HM Treasury

Welfare Tax Credits: Liverpool City Region

Maria Eagle: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many families in (a) Garston and Halewood constituency and (b) Liverpool City Region were in receipt of the family element of tax credits in each year since April 2010.

Jane Ellison: The number of families in (a) Garston and Halewood constituency and (b) Liverpool City Region in receipt of the family element of tax credits in each year since April 2010 is shown in the table below. Estimates for Liverpool City Region are obtained by aggregating the figures for the following local authorities: Liverpool, Halton, Knowsley, St Helen, Sefton, Wirral.  Families in receipt of family element of tax credits since April 2010 YearGarston and Halewood constituencyLiverpool City Region2010-119,700148,6002011-128,800135,0002012-137,400111,7002013-147,200109,7002014-157,000107,100

Child Tax Credit: Liverpool City Region

Maria Eagle: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many and what proportion of families in (a) Garston and Halewood constituency and (b) Liverpool City Region in receipt of child tax credits were lone parent households in each year since April 2010.

Jane Ellison: The number and proportion of families in (a) Garston and Halewood constituency and (b) Liverpool City Region in receipt of child tax credits that were lone parent households in each year since April 2010 is shown in the table below. Estimates for Liverpool City Region are obtained by aggregating the figures for the following local authorities: Liverpool, Halton, Knowsley, St Helen, Sefton, Wirral. Families in receipt of child tax credits that are lone parent families  YearGarston and Halewood constituencyLiverpool City RegionNumberAs a proportion of total families in area in receipt of child tax creditsNumberAs a proportion of total families in area in receipt of child tax credits2010-115,00051.6%71,40048.1%2011-125,10057.4%72,10053.4%2012-134,90066.2%70,00062.7%2013-144,80067.1%69,30063.2%2014-154,70066.9%67,90063.4%

Child Tax Credit: Liverpool City Region

Maria Eagle: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many and what proportion of families in (a) Garston and Halewood constituency and (b) Liverpool City Region in receipt of child tax credits were households of two or more children in each year since April 2010.

Jane Ellison: The number and proportion of families in (a) Garston and Halewood constituency and (b) Liverpool City Region in receipt of child tax credits that were households of two or more children in each year since April 2010 is shown in the table below. Estimates for Liverpool City Region are obtained by aggregating the figures for the following local authorities: Liverpool, Halton, Knowsley, St Helen, Sefton, Wirral. Families in receipt of child tax credits with two or more children since April 2010 YearGarston and Halewood constituencyLiverpool City RegionNumberAs a proportion of total families in area in receipt of child tax creditsNumberAs a proportion of total families in area in receipt of child tax credits2010-114,80049.7%74,40050.1%2011-124,30049.1%66,60049.4%2012-133,90052.4%58,60052.5%2013-143,80052.8%58,20053.1%2014-153,70052.5%57,50053.7%

Aviation: Training

Byron Davies: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will assess the potential merits of creating a levy or tax-free training scheme for general aviation on the condition that pilots qualifying through such a scheme must volunteer for charitable purposes such as air ambulances and civil air patrols.

Jane Ellison: If an employer provides work-related training to an employee it is tax and National Insurance contributions free. The apprenticeship levy was launched on 6 April 2017. It will help to reverse the trend of employers’ underinvesting in training and put control of funding for apprenticeships in employers’ hands. Employers have already developed new apprenticeships standards in aviation which include Airside Ground Specialist and Aviation Operations Manager, with the Commercial Airline Pilot standard currently in development.

Whisky: Excise Duties

Andrew Rosindell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations his Department has received from Scottish whiskey producers on  the increase in excise duties on spirits in the Spring Budget 2017.

Jane Ellison: HM Treasury receives a wide range of representations from stakeholders, including from the alcohol industry.

Rented Housing: Scotland

Martyn Day: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of taxing landlords on their income rather than profit on the supply of affordable rented accommodation in Scotland.

Jane Ellison: The restriction of finance costs tax relief for landlords does not mean that landlords will be taxed on their income. Landlords will still be able to deduct other costs incurred in letting out a property when calculating their taxable profits, and will receive tax relief on their finance costs at the basic rate of tax. Only 1 in 5 landlords are expected to pay more tax as a result of this change. Given the small proportion of the housing market affected by this, the Government does not expect a significant impact on rent levels or the supply of rented accommodation. The Office for Budget Responsibility also expect the impact on the housing market will be small. Landlords do not provide the location of their let properties on their tax return.

Aviation: Training

Sir Roger Gale: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to incentivise corporate sponsorship of not-for-profit flight training and flying schools.

Sir Roger Gale: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to incentivise corporate sponsorship of air ambulances, civil air patrols and other not-for-profit and charitable organisations.

Jane Ellison: There are tax incentives already available for businesses which support not-for-profit and charitable organisations. Qualifying donations receive corporation tax relief, and sponsorship payments are tax deductible as business expenses. Charities whose main purpose is to provide air ambulance services have been included in the VAT refund scheme since April 2014, meaning they can claim refunds of VAT incurred on their non-business activities.

Individual Savings Accounts

Andrew Bingham: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of financial providers that will be offering the Lifetime ISA, as announced in Budget 2016, on the launch date of 6 April 2017.

Jane Ellison: At launch, there were five providers offering the Lifetime ISA. Other providers have announced their intention to offer the Lifetime ISA, including the first cash provider. The Government anticipates that the market will continue to grow over the course of the year as providers put their systems in place and develop their products.

Cash Dispensing: Non-domestic Rates

Mrs Anne Main: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department will review the turnover model that is used to set business rates on ATMs located in undefined retailers' forecourts.

Jane Ellison: The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) is responsible for assessing Rateable Values for business rates. The Rateable Value represents the annual rent a property would achieve if let on the open market at a valuation date set in law. Rents paid for sites for automated teller machines (ATMs) are used to determine the appropriate Rateable Value. The level of rent paid for ATM sites varies with the volume of transactions. Those with the lowest rents usually have a low volume of transactions and higher rents are paid for the more intensely-used sites. Using this approach to compare one site with another has been discussed and agreed with various industry representatives. The VOA has no plans to change this approach.

Advance Pricing Agreements

Margaret Hodge: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many Advance Thin Capitalisation agreements were made in (a) 2014-15 and (b) 2015-16; how long it took to reach each such agreement; how many such agreements are still in force; how many intra-group company bodies apply to those agreements; and what the average level of taxable profits was for those agreements.

Jane Ellison: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) intends to publish Advanced Thin Capitalisation Agreement statistics in due course as part of a wider publication of data relating to HMRC’s work on collecting tax owed to the UK.

Tax Avoidance

Mrs Theresa Villiers: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much revenue has been raised through measures to tackle aggressive tax avoidance by large companies since 2010.

Jane Ellison: HM Revenue and Customs has secured £140 billion in additional revenues since 2010 as a result of tackling avoidance, evasion and non-compliance. This includes more than £45 billion from big businesses.

European Investment Bank

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to retain the UK's shareholding in the European Investment Bank after the UK leaves the EU.

Mr David Gauke: While the UK remains a full member of the European Union it retains all of the rights, obligations and benefits that membership brings. This includes the shareholding in European Investment Bank. The long-term relationship between the UK and the EIB will need to be resolved as part of the negotiations on the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.

Government Departments: Credit Cards

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish a list of government departments and agencies that apply a surcharge when customers make payments by credit card.

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 22 March 2017 to Question 67778, if he will make it his policy to end the practice of (a) the DVLA and (b) other Government agencies who impose a credit card surcharge greater than the 0.3 per cent cap for credit transactions.

Simon Kirby: HM Treasury has not made an analysis of the Government departments and agencies that apply a surcharge when customers make payments by credit card. However, from January 2018 the Payment Services Directive 2 (PSD2) introduces a ban on surcharging which means that retailers will no longer be able to charge consumers to use payment instruments for which interchange fees are regulated, which includes the majority of consumer debit and credit cards. Merchants currently pay a merchant service charge to process all card transactions. Part of this covers the fees that a merchant acquirer can be charged by a card issuing bank for processing transactions known as interchange fees. The Interchange Fee Regulation (IFR), which came into force in December 2015, caps the fees that could be passed on to consumers from merchants in the form of higher prices at 0.2% and 0.3% for debit and credit cards respectively.

Rent a Room Scheme

Ben Howlett: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 3.22 of the Spring Budget 2017, what his proposals are on the redesign of rent-a-room relief; and when he plans to consult of those proposals.

Mr David Gauke: Rent-a-room relief was first introduced to increase the quantity and variety of low-cost rented housing, giving more choice to tenants and making it easier for people to move jobs. The consultation, which will be published in due course, will explore the most effective changes to better align the relief with its original purpose.

Treasury: Procurement

Jon Trickett: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 21 March 2017 to Question 65005, on procurement, what estimate he has made of the total budget for procurement management in each year since 2010.

Simon Kirby: The Treasury does not hold a central budget for procurement management.

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has plans to (a) retain or (b) increase the UK's shareholding in the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Gauke: There are no plans to change the UK’s shareholding in the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The UK remains firmly committed to membership of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which is an international organisation, and is therefore unaffected by the UK’s exit from the European Union.

Employee Benefit Trusts: Roadchef

Ian Austin: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will meet the Chief Executive of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to discuss how HMRC deals with cases of unjust enrichment; and if he will examine the case of the Roadchef Employees Benefit Trust.

Jane Ellison: The administration of the tax system, including where appropriate the repayment of tax or duties, is a matter for HM Revenue and Customs. It would not be appropriate for Treasury Ministers to become involved in specific cases.

Members: Correspondence

Rob Marris: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he plans to respond to the letter of 1 March 2017 from the hon. Member for Wolverhampton South West on Making Tax Digital, reference ZA6919.

Jane Ellison: I replied to the letter from the hon. Member for Wolverhampton South West about Making Tax Digital on 20 April.

Bank Cards: Fees and Charges

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 22 March 2017 to Question 67778, what steps he is taking to ensure local trading standards officers are adequately resourced to effectively enforce the interchange fee regulation.

Simon Kirby: Local Trading Standards officers are not responsible for enforcing the Interchange Fee Regulation. The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) is responsible for monitoring compliance with the interchange fee regulation in the UK and for taking enforcement action where appropriate.

Royal Bank of Scotland

Kelly Tolhurst: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, at what level of seniority his Department had discussions with (a) the Royal Bank of Scotland and (b) NatWest on their programmes for nationwide branch closures; and how many times such discussions took place.

Simon Kirby: Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel

Aerospace Industry

Dr James Davies: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment the Government has made of the potential implications of the proposed US Border Adjustment Tax for the UK aerospace industry; and what assessment he has made of the compliance of those proposals with World Trade Organisation rules.

Jane Ellison: The Government recognises that reform of the US corporate tax system is a priority for the US administration. However, the US administration has not endorsed the border adjustment tax and Congress has not yet drafted a bill that sets out the legislative detail of proposed tax reform, including any border adjustment tax. We are following US tax reforms closely and their potential impact on UK competitiveness and international trade will be assessed once detailed proposals are available.

Individual Savings Accounts

Gordon Henderson: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Government plans to encourage high street banks to offer the Lifetime ISA.

Jane Ellison: Ultimately, the decision to offer the Lifetime ISA is for individual providers to make. The Government anticipates that the market will continue to grow over the course of the year as providers put their systems in place and develop their products.

State Retirement Pensions: Females

Alex Cunningham: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will extend pension freedoms to those women born in the 1950s affected by the change in the state pension age to allow them to access their entire private or occupational pension pots free of taxation.

Jane Ellison: The pension freedoms are available to anyone aged at least 55 who wishes to access money purchase pension savings. This applies to occupational and private pensions alike and is irrespective of their state pension age.

Lloyds of London: Belgium

Catherine West: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on the economy of Lloyds of London establishing a new subsidiary in Brussels following the UK's exit from the EU.

Simon Kirby: As part of its work to inform the government’s negotiating position, HM Treasury is engaging with a range of firms from across the financial services sector – including Lloyd’s of London – to understand their plans following the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. Lloyd’s estimates that the number of jobs moved will be “in the tens, not the hundreds”. The Government is confident that London will remain the world’s preeminent insurance centre.

European Banking Authority and European Medicines Agency: Taxation

Tom Brake: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the tax revenues that will be lost when the European Medicines Agency and the European Banking Authority leave the UK.

Jane Ellison: The Government continues to carry out a significant amount of work to assess the economic and fiscal impacts of leaving the EU, as part of a continuing programme of analytical work covering a range of possible exit scenarios, including sectoral analysis. The location of the European Union’s agencies is a matter for the European Union. As we enter into negotiations, we will work hard to seek the best possible deal for the UK.

Children: Poverty

Alan Brown: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if his Department will make an assessment of the effect of freezing rates of child benefit and child tax credit on children living in poverty in Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency.

Mr David Gauke: The government has considered the impact on all benefits and tax credits rates that are included in the four year uprating freeze. The government has published an impact assessment at: http://www.parliament.uk/documents/impact-assessments/IA15-006C.pdf

PAYE

Stephen Timms: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what use HM Revenue and Customs makes of BACS hashing to check the accuracy of employers' submissions through real-time information of employees' pay.

Jane Ellison: Employers do not need to pay their employees by BACS (Direct Credit), but where they do, the BACS hash enables HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to automatically verify that the payment amount reported by the employer is the same as the payment received in the individual’s bank account. Where HMRC receives a hash from an employer, HMRC share whether or not this has matched with DWP who use this information to help validate Universal Credit claims.

Revenue and Customs: Location

Chris Stephens: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he plans for the equality impact assessment for the Building Our Future proposals to be published.

Jane Ellison: HM Revenue and Customs conducted high level People Impact and Equality Assessments to inform its planning and has already published a summary to its staff. The Department is considering future publication plans.

Treasury: Living Wage

Chris Stephens: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans there are for HM Revenue and Customs to sign up to be a living wage employer.

Jane Ellison: HM Revenue and Customs does not have any plans to apply for accreditation as a Living Wage employer for either directly employed staff, or third party contracted staff. As a statutory requirement, HM Revenue and Customs ensures all staff employed directly or through third party contract receive at least the National Living Wage, which was introduced in April 2016.

Treasury: Freedom of Information

Andrew Gwynne: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many staff in his Department respond to Freedom of Information requests.

Simon Kirby: All officials in the department have an ongoing responsibility for resolving Freedom of Information requests which fall within their policy area or remit. Officials are supported by a team of eight full time equivalents in the Information Rights Unit whose primary role is to oversee, coordinate and ensure the department’s obligations under the Freedom of Information Act are fulfilled.

Employee Benefit Trusts: Roadchef

Jessica Morden: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the implications of paragraph 181 of the judgement in the case of Roadchef Employees Benefit Trust Ltd v Ingram Hill 2014 for (a) HM Revenue and Customs and (b) the regulation of employees benefit trusts; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: The administration of the tax system, including where appropriate the repayment of tax or duties, is a matter for HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). It would not be appropriate for Treasury Ministers to become involved in specific cases.Treasury Ministers do not generally consider the implications of individual court cases unless, on advice from HMRC, such cases have wide and significant implications for the UK tax system. No such advice has been received from HMRC in this instance.

European Banking Authority: Location

Tom Brake: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on the UK banking sector of the relocation out of the UK of the European Banking Authority.

Simon Kirby: The future of the European Banking Authority (EBA), and any potential effects on the wider banking sector relating to the location of EBA staff, is subject to the outcome of the withdrawal negotiations.

Debts: Cars

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the level of personal debt relating to car purchases in each of the last five years.

Simon Kirby: HM Treasury does not collect data on the level of personal debt relating to car purchases.

Fuels: Tax Evasion

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many arrests have been made in connection with fuel fraud in Northern Ireland since 1 January 2017.

Jane Ellison: There had been no arrests for fuel fraud in Northern Ireland since 1 January 2017 as of the end of March.

Property: Money Laundering

Mr David Lammy: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the proceeds of (a) tax evasion, (b) tax avoidance, (c) corruption and (d) other criminal activities are not used to purchase property in the UK.

Simon Kirby: The Government is determined to make the UK a hostile environment for illicit finance and is making the biggest changes to our anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regime in a decade. The Government announced in March that the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 will clarify that estate agents must undertake customer due diligence measures on purchasers as well as sellers in a property transaction. In addition, the Criminal Finances Bill provides new investigative powers, including Unexplained Wealth Orders, that will make it easier for our law enforcement agencies to investigate money laundering in the London property market and recover the proceeds of crime. The Bill also contains new offences of corporate failure to prevent tax evasion, which will help ensure that companies that facilitate tax evasion will face penalties. Furthermore, the Government has recently published a call for evidence seeking views on a new register of overseas companies that own property in the UK.

Public Sector Debt

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of public sector net debt at the end of the current financial year.

Mr David Gauke: At Budget 17, the Office for Budget Responsibility forecast public sector net debt to be 88.8% of GDP – £1829.7bn – at the end of the financial year 2017-18.

Taxation: Landlords

Martyn Day: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the potential effect of taxing landlords on their income rather than profit on the cost of rent for tenants.

Jane Ellison: I refer the honourable member for Linlithgow and East Falkirk to the answer given on 24 April 2017 to his previous question on this subject.

Revenue and Customs: Staff

Chris Stephens: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to increase staffing levels in HM Revenue and Customs after the UK has left the EU and EU customs union.

Jane Ellison: Changes to staffing levels within HM Revenue and Customs will be dependent on the outcome of EU exit negotiations.

ACAS

Chris Stephens: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the policy of HM Revenue and Customs is on requests for ACAS Early Conciliations made by its employees who are seeking to resolve workplace disputes.

Jane Ellison: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) considers requests for ACAS Early Conciliations with an open mind and on a case by case basis, in consultation with ACAS. If a particular case has already gone through a robust internal appeal process, or is still going through HMRC internal procedures, then a request for Early Conciliation is likely to be declined.

Prime Minister

Prime Minister: Security

Jon Trickett: To ask the Prime Minister, how many security passes giving access to 10 Downing Street's premises have been issued in each year since 2010.

Jon Trickett: To ask the Prime Minister, how many people holding security passes for other Government Departments are granted access to 10 Downing Street's premises with that pass, by Department.

Mrs Theresa May: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 7 February 2017, UIN 62542.

Department for Work and Pensions

Council Tax Reduction Schemes: Garston and Halewood

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of households in Garston and Halewood constituency in receipt of council tax support had a (a) working age tenant and (b) tenant in receipt of (i) disability living allowance or (ii) personal independence payments in each year since April 2013.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of households in Liverpool City Region in receipt of council tax support had a (a) working age tenant and (b) tenant in receipt of (i) disability living allowance or (ii) personal independence payments in each year since April 2013.

Caroline Nokes: The data requested is not held centrally. The Department for Work and Pensions does not have responsibility for the Localised Council Tax Support Scheme, which lies with the Department for Communities and Local Government.

Housing Benefit

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of building council housing as a means of reducing housing benefit expenditure.

Caroline Nokes: The Government takes into account the implications for Housing Benefit expenditure when considering policies for social and affordable housing.

Social Security Benefits: ICT

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when his Department plans to close down the IT systems for legacy benefits after the roll-out of universal credit.

Caroline Nokes: Once Universal Credit is fully rolled out and claimants have been successfully migrated from their previous benefits in accordance with our published plan, existing systems will be decommissioned if they have no further utility. However, the majority of the legacy benefit IT systems also support provision of other benefits and may therefore have a life beyond that of the full introduction of Universal Credit.

Department for Work and Pensions: Data Protection

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) official and (b) official sensitive documents have been recorded as lost by his Department since 8 May 2015.

Caroline Nokes: DWP does not keep a central record of “Official” document losses as these are dealt with locally. The number of incidents of documents marked “Official-Sensitive” being lost from 8 May 2015 to 28 February 2017 is 77.

Department for Work and Pensions: Security

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people holding security passes for other Government Departments are granted access to his Department's premises with that pass, by Department.

Caroline Nokes: Records for Common Access Security Passes issued by Other Government Departments are not held by DWP.

Department for Work and Pensions: Staff

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people are currently employed by his Department.

Caroline Nokes: The Department for Work and Pensions employed the full-time equivalent of 74,436 people on 28 February 2017.

Department for Work and Pensions: Security

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many security passes giving access to his Department's premises have been issued in each year since 2010.

Caroline Nokes: All security passes allowing access to our premises are issued locally and controlled by each office, and centrally held records are not kept.  Therefore, this Department does not readily have the information you requested.

Department for Work and Pensions: Security

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many security passes giving access to his Department's premises are currently valid.

Caroline Nokes: All security passes allowing access to our premises are issued locally and controlled by each office, and centrally held records are not kept. Therefore, this Department does not readily have the information you requested.

Department for Work and Pensions: Staff

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many members of staff have been employed by his Department (a) in total and (b) as caseworkers at the Child Maintenance Service in each of the last five years.

Caroline Nokes: The table below shows how many members of staff have been employed in total by the Department for Work and Pensions and how many of these are Caseworkers for the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) over the past five years.  2012/20132013/20142014/20152015/20162016/2017DWP106,55197,39491,46486,34785,301CMS Caseworkers521,4872,6203,2893,458* Notes: - Figures show March resource level for each respective year- *2016/2017 CMS figure shows position as of end February 2017 as March data is currently unavailable- These figures include caseworkers at AO, EO and HEO grade. For the purposes of this answer all managers / team leaders have been excluded although these colleagues on occasion may complete work on a case

Child Maintenance Service: Falkirk

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many of his Department's staff at the Child Maintenance Service in the Northern Business Unit, Falkirk have been employed to take enquiries from hon. Members on behalf of constituents in each of that last five years.

Caroline Nokes: The table below shows the average number of caseworkers employed by the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) over the past 5 years who work in the Falkirk Complaints Team. This team carry out a range of duties including policy queries, application fee refunds, and consolatory payments as well as handling enquiries from Members of Parliament. The team are responsible for handling any such activities relating to cases in Scotland, North East and North West England.  2012/20132013/20142014/20152015/20162016/2017Falkirk Complaints Resolution-5101310 Note:- Data unavailable for 2012/2013 as the team was not set up until July 2013

Veterans: Personal Independence Payment

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many former service men and women were in receipt of personal independence payments in each of the last five years.

Penny Mordaunt: The Department does not hold this information. However, in 2015/16 1000 former Servicemen and woman were receiving Armed Forces Independence Payment. The Information can be found in the following link - Outturn and forecast: Spring Budget 2017 (ODS) Table 1c

Health and Safety Executive: Public Appointments

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many applications the board of the Health and Safety Executive received during its last intake.

Penny Mordaunt: Two recruitment exercises were undertaken for the board of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in 2015/16, to recruit a Chair and six Non-Executive Directors (NED). For the Chair post we received 26 applications and for the NED posts we received 213 applications.

Access to Work Programme

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department plans to take to promote the uptake of the Access to Work programme with (a) employers and (b) employees.

Penny Mordaunt: We have promoted Access to Work as part of Disability Confident, and will continue to do so. Disability Confident gives employers the tools and advice they need to think differently about disability and to take action to recruit, retain and develop disabled workers. We are also undertaking further marketing and promotion of the Access to Work programme. This includes working with stakeholders and partners and employer associations to raise awareness through communications to their customers and ensuring advisers who work with potential customers, including Jobcentre Plus, health professionals and advisory groups, have the information and tools to act as advocates.

Housing Benefit

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make it his policy to allow local authorities to issue housing benefit payments to claimants on more than one date in each month to prevent rent arrears from accruing.

Caroline Nokes: Local authorities have some discretion in deciding the payment frequency for Housing Benefit, and are expected to take into account the reasonable needs and convenience of the claimant in determining the timing of payments. However, the general principle is that the timing of payments should reflect the nature of the claimant’s liability.

Department for Work and Pensions: Procurement

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 2 March 2017 to Question 65535, on procurement, what estimate he has made of the total budget for procurement management in each year since 2010.

Caroline Nokes: We do not capture spend for procurement activity across DWP. However commercial directorate spend is: 2012-13 £14,897,9802013-14 £15,366,9182014-15 £16,232,0212015-16 £19,170,5782016-17 £19,652,516 We are unable to provide the figures for 2010-2012 in the timescales provided.

Children: Maintenance

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many victims of domestic violence have been registered with the Child Maintenance Service in each year since that Service's creation; and how many of those people have paid fees to the Child Maintenance Service.

Caroline Nokes: Information on the number of applications which have fee exemptions for reasons of domestic violence are published on Table 3 of the Child Maintenance Service Experimental Statistics, which contains data up until November 2016. The publication can be accessed online at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/2012-statutory-child-maintenance-scheme-aug-2013-to-nov-2016-experimentalVictims of domestic violence or abuse are exempt from the £20 application fee charged by the Child Maintenance Service. More information about this can be accessed online at:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/261879/child-support-fees-domestic-violence-guidance.pdf

Employment: Autism

Corri Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will launch a national programme to promote the employment potential of autistic people to employers.

Penny Mordaunt: The Department is actively promoting the employment potential of all disabled people across Britain, including those with autism, to employers via the Disability Confident Scheme. To further support employers, the Hidden Impairments National Group, established by DWP, provides an “Uncovering Hidden Impairment toolkit” which is free of charge to employers.

Employment: Autism

Corri Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will record the number of autistic people in employment as part of the Labour Force Survey; and what steps his Department has taken to ensure that autistic people are benefitting from increased employment rates.

Penny Mordaunt: Over a number of years employment data on people with specific long term health conditions has been collected by the Office for National Statistics using the Labour Force Survey. This important survey has allowed the Department to produce useful time series statistics on the employment rates of individuals with long term health conditions, where this information is collected. The Labour Force Survey includes a large range of health conditions that survey respondents can report they experience; however this does not currently include autism as one of the named health conditions and there are no plans to begin collecting this data. DWP is working with Autism Alliance UK on a national training programme for Jobcentre Plus staff (so that they can better support claimants with autism into work). In addition, the Department has helped to develop a Disability Passport - About Me - to support disabled people, including those with autism, who are seeking jobs and those helping them. Disabled people can share it with their work coach or adviser, to help improve communication and put any reasonable adjustments in place at the earliest opportunity. Additionally, Improving Lives – the Work, Health and Disability Green Paper sets out the Government’s proposals for improving work and health outcomes for disabled people and people with long-term health conditions. We are now considering consultation responses and the next steps for longer term reform.

Personal Independence Payment: Appeals

Ronnie Cowan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, following the accepting of an appeal against a personal independence payment award, how many claimants (a) are offered a revised decision by his Department prior to the appeal being heard, (b) accept the revised decision leading to the appeal lapsing, (c) reject the revised decision and continue with the appeal and (d) accept the revised decision leading to the appeal lapsing and subsequently lodge an appeal against the revised decision; and how many appeals were considered lapsed in each of the last five years.

Penny Mordaunt: The information requested is not available.

Older Workers: Disability

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the number of people approaching state pension age who are assessed by the Government as unable to work.

Richard Harrington: The information requested is not available. There is readily available information which shows the number of claimants receiving Employment and Support Allowance by phase of claim and age, and is published here:https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html

State Retirement Pensions: Females

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to introduce a non-means-tested bridging pension to provide an income from the age of 60 years old until state pension age for women affected by the changes to state pension age legislation.

Richard Harrington: The Government will not be revisiting the State Pension age arrangements for women affected by the Pensions Act 1995 and Pensions Act 2011. These women will receive their State Pension either at the same age as men or earlier as we remove the current inequality. A concession was made prior to the passing of the 2011 Act which reduced the delay that anyone would experience in claiming their State Pension, relative to the previous timetable, to 18 months. This concession benefited almost a quarter of a million women, who would otherwise have experienced delays of up to two years. A similar number of men also benefited from a reduced increase, and the concession was worth £1.1 billion in total.

Department for Work and Pensions: Land

Mr Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to paragraphs 1.296 and 1.297 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, what progress his Department has made by estimated capacity of land sold since March 2016 in identifying and disposing of land to meet the Government's commitment set out in that publication.

Caroline Nokes: The Department for Work and Pensions does not own any land and has not owned any land since 2003.

Social Security Benefits: York Central

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much has accrued to the public purse as a result of benefit sanctions against people in York Central constituency in each of the last five years.

Damian Hinds: The Department does not make an estimate of how much has accrued to the public purse as a result of benefit sanctions.

Department for Work and Pensions: Conditions of Employment

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of staff employed by his Department are employed on a contract which is (a) full-time permanent, (b) part-time permanent, (c) for less than two years' duration, (d) on an agency basis and (e) zero-hours.

Caroline Nokes: As at March 2017 the Department of Work and Pensions had:a) 50,035 members of staff employed on full-time permanent contractsb) 31,875 members of staff employed on part-time permanent contractsc) 1,661 members of staff employed on Fixed Term appointment contracts of less than 2 years durationd) the number of staff employed on an agency Contingent Labour basis to cover specific service delivery activities where there is no DWP internal resource are forecast on a monthly basis and clarified retrospectively each quarter. The forecast for March 2017 was 518.e) No staff are employed on zero hours contracts

Children: Maintenance

Neil Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much the Child Maintenance Service received from the 20 per cent handling fee for calculated maintenance in the last year for which figures are available.

Caroline Nokes: The Child Maintenance Service received £5.6m from the 20 per cent handling fee for calculated maintenance in the financial year ended 31st March 2016, the last year for which figures are available.

Children: Maintenance

Neil Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Child Maintenance Service applies a 20 per cent handling fee to the arrears of paying parents.

Caroline Nokes: A 20 per cent charge applies to on-going maintenance liability where parents use the Collect and Pay service in the Child Maintenance Service. This charge remains payable if arrears are accrued. There are no collection charges for parents who use the Direct Pay service.

Children: Maintenance

Neil Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many parents used the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) to make payments in the last year; and how many parents resolved maintenance issues themselves after CMS support.

Caroline Nokes: Information on the number of case groups contributing towards their current liability with the Child Maintenance Service are published on Table 5 of the Child Maintenance Service Experimental Statistics, which contains data up until November 2016.The Publication can be accessed online at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/2012-statutory-child-maintenance-scheme-aug-2013-to-nov-2016-experimental A case group consists of all the cases associated with a paying parent. Note that the figures for casegroups contributing towards current liability are based on the assumption that paying parents on Direct Pay are fully contributing to current liability. Information on the number of parents, who resolved maintenance issues themselves after CMS support, is planned for release in the next CMS 2012 Scheme publication which will be available at the following link. https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-on-the-2012-statutory-child-maintenance-scheme The release date will be pre-announced in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.

Children: Maintenance

Neil Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much the Child Maintenance Service received from receiving parents contributing a four per cent handling fee of the calculated maintenance in the last year for which figures are available.

Caroline Nokes: The Child Maintenance Service received £1.1m from receiving parents contributing a four per cent handling fee of the calculated maintenance in the financial year ended 31st March 2016, the last year for which figures are available.

Children: Maintenance

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will bring forward proposals to take into consideration pension deductions prior to calculating child maintenance payments.

Caroline Nokes: The Child Maintenance Service already takes account of a paying parent’s contribution towards an approved occupational or personal pension scheme. For paying parents in employment, this will usually happen automatically, since employers will have already offset contributions under PAYE arrangements. Where this does not happen, for example because the contributions are paid directly to a pension provider, the paying parent will be asked to tell the Child Maintenance Service how much they pay into their pension scheme.

Children: Maintenance

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will bring forward proposals to change the child maintenance calculations from gross to net income.

Caroline Nokes: The Child Maintenance Service calculates maintenance liabilities as a percentage of gross weekly income. Using gross annual income data directly from HMRC enables maintenance calculations to be made more quickly and ensures that the income information is as accurate and up to date as possible. My Department has no plans to change the way that statutory maintenance liabilities are calculated

Employment Services: Private Sector

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will publish a list of private sector organisations that provide back to work support services for claimants of (a) jobseeker's allowance, (b) employment and support allowance and (c) universal credit.

Caroline Nokes: Details of contracts awarded by the Department for Work and Pensions over £10k are actively published on Contracts Finder and available in the public domain – accessed via https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder

State Retirement Pensions: Females

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of women born in the 1950s affected by the change in the state pension age who have access to an occupational or private pension.

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of women born in the 1950s affected by the change in state pension age who (a) have remained in employment, (b) are registered for and in receipt of jobseeker's allowance and (c) have retired early.

Richard Harrington: All women born in the 1950s from 6 April 1950 onwards are affected by changes to State Pension age under the Pensions Acts of 1995 and 2011. The estimated number of women in Great Britain born in the 1950s affected by the changes to State Pension age is 3.48 million. The latest figures on pension wealth, from the Wealth and Assets Survey, show that, in the period July 2012 to June 2014, 66 per cent of women aged 55-64 in Great Britain had pensions wealth. This would include those still paying into an occupational or personal pension and those accessing their pensions. Further information on private pension wealth can be found in chapter 6 of the Wealth and Assets Survey, at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/personalandhouseholdfinances/incomeandwealth/compendium/wealthingreatbritainwave4/2012to2014/chapter6privatepensionwealthwealthingreatbritain2012to2014 The latest figures from the Annual Population Survey, from July 2015 to June 2016, show that, of the 3.73 million women in the United Kingdom aged 56 to 65 inclusive at that time (the closest age grouping matching the women in question from the data available), 1,919,000 (51%) were in employment, 55,000 (1%) were unemployed, 955,000 (26%) were retired, and the remaining 806,000 (22%) were economically inactive for other reasons. The latest figures on Jobseeker’s Allowance are for March 2017, when there were around 34,000 women in Great Britain aged 55 and over in receipt of Jobseeker’s Allowance. These data can be found at: https://www.nomisweb.co.uk. A small additional number of women in this age group will instead have been in receipt of Universal Credit, which replaces Jobseeker’s Allowance and five other benefits and tax credits.

Jobcentres: Travel

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of his Department introducing a (a) maximum distance of travel criterion for jobcentre and Jobcentre Plus claimants and (b) cap on the costs of travel incurred by claimants on commuting to and from jobcentre and Jobcentre Plus appointments.

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will introduce a (a) maximum distance of travel criterion for jobcentre and Jobcentre Plus claimants and (b) cap on the costs of travel incurred by claimants on commuting to and from jobcentre and Jobcentre Plus appointments.

Damian Hinds: We already have the flexibility to support claimants who are required to attend regular Jobcentre Plus appointments.Alternative arrangements can be made for claimants who live more than one hour away from their nearest Jobcentre Plus office using public transport and for journeys which result in an absence from home of four hours or more. In these circumstances claimants can engage with us through digital or telephony channels or exceptionally by post for Jobseeker’s Allowance claimants. For claimants required to look for and be available for work, if an appointment falls outside of their normal fortnightly attendance cycle, travel expenses can be refunded. Jobseekers who have been claiming Universal Credit or Jobseekers Allowance for more than 13 weeks can also apply for a Jobcentre Plus Travel Discount Card which halves the cost of pay as you go bus fares.

Social Security Benefits

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average processing time is for claims of (a) employment and support allowance, (b) carer's allowance and (c) attendance allowance; and what plans his Department has to publish that data on a quarterly basis.

Penny Mordaunt: The data available in relation to this question is the Actual Average Clearance Time (AACT) which is the average number of working Days (excludes weekends and English Bank Holidays) between an application being made and the date the customer was notified of the decision on their claim. The AACT for Carers Allowance Claims for the Financial Year which runs from April 16 to March 17 is 21.5 days The AACT for Attendance Allowance Normal Rules Claims for the Financial Year which runs from April 16 to March 17 is 19.3 days The AACT for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) claims for the Financial year which runs from April 16 to March 17 is 7.9 days The Department has no plans to publish these statistics on a quarterly basis. Sources:Attendance Allowance Computer System (AACS)Carers Allowance Computer System (CACS)Management Information System Programme (MISP). MISP is a Departmental performance management, data capture and reporting tool.

Pensions

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of people unable to work who are withdrawing their private pensions before reaching state pension age in the last 12 months.

Richard Harrington: The information is not available. Private pensions are accessible to those below state pension age either due to the scheme’s normal pension age being below that of state pension or individuals selecting to access their pension savings early. Private pension schemes can also offer pensions earlier than normal on the grounds of ill health. Individuals now have more options as to how they access their private pension savings following the pension flexibility reforms introduced from April 2015 which mean those with defined contribution pots can access them from the age of 55.

Personal Independence Payment: Appeals

Christian Matheson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of personal independence payment cases overturned at reconsideration or appeal stages were initially assessed as scoring zero points by the relevant assessor in 2016.

Penny Mordaunt: The table below provides the number of mandatory reconsiderations and appeals where the decision was overturned in 2016, and the proportion of these cases where the individual was initially assessed as scoring zero points by the DWP case manager.  Mandatory ReconsiderationsAppealsOverturned cases34,11032,070Overturned cases when they initially scored zero points5,030 (15%)8,100 (25%)  Notes:The number of Mandatory Reconsideration (MR) and Appeal overturns includes decisions where a claimant’s monetary award was changed at MR or Appeal.Data shows the number of MRs and Appeals where the outcome of this decision was reached during 2016.The data currently available on point scores and reported here shows the points awarded by the DWP case manager at initial decision.

Personal Independence Payment: Appeals

Christian Matheson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of personal independence payment cases were overturned on appeal at (a) mandatory reconsideration and (b) appeal stage in 2016.

Penny Mordaunt: Statistics on MRs can be found in in tables 7A and 7B of:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/personal-independence-payment-statistics Information on the number of PIP appeals is published by the Ministry of Justice. A link to the latest national level statistics published on9 March 2017 is here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tribunals-and-gender-recognition-certificate-statistics-quarterly-october-to-december-2016. See table SSCS3

Department for Work and Pensions: Secondment

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many staff are seconded to his Department; and how many such staff are seconded from which companies and organisations.

Caroline Nokes: The Department does not hold a central register of staff seconded into the Department. The information requested is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Personal Independence Payment: Epilepsy

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people with epilepsy who were previously in receipt of disability living allowance and have undergone a review to assess their eligibility for personal independence payment applied for mandatory reconsideration of the decision and were successful on their claim to date.

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people with epilepsy who were previously in receipt of disability living allowance and have undergone a review to assess their eligibility for personal independence payment (PIP) have appealed the decision on their claim for PIP at tribunal and were successful on such claims to date.

Penny Mordaunt: The information requested is not readily available and can only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.

Employment: Hearing Impairment

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the proportion of people (a) with hearing loss and (b) who list their primary medical condition as difficulty in hearing who were (i) in employment, (ii) economically inactive and (iii) unemployed in the last five years for which figures are available.

Penny Mordaunt: Table 1 provides an estimate of the proportion of working age people who are in employment, who are unemployed and who are economically inactive who:a) Report they have a difficulty in hearing (either as their main long term health condition or alongside a different main long term health condition)b) Report that their difficulty in hearing is their main long term health condition. Data has been provided for calendar years of 2012 and from 2014 to 2016 in the table below. A change in how the Annual Population Survey captures information on long term health conditions was made in April-June 2013. This change led to a break in the series and therefore data is not available for the entirety of the 2013 calendar year and has therefore not been provided. Data for 2012 is not comparable with data from 2014 onwards. Please also note the full list of caveats below the table for further methodological information on how this data was calculated and how these figures should be interpreted appropriately. Table 1 – The proportion of working age people in employment, who are unemployed and who are economically inactive for people who have a difficulty in hearing  People with a difficulty in hearing as either their main long term health condition or alongside a different main long term health conditionPeople whose main long term health condition is a difficulty in hearing Employed (%)Unemployed (%)Economically Inactive (%)Employed (%)Unemployed (%)Economically Inactive (%)201247.16.546.466.29.424.32013Data not available due to a change in how the Annual Population Survey captures information on health conditions. Data for 2014 onwards should not be compared with data before 2013.201446.64.748.667.35.627.1201547.94.647.569.46.324.3201647.14.049.070.04.825.2 Source: Annual Population Survey, January to December, 2012, and 2014 to 2016 Notes:Figures are for the working age population, comprised of people aged 16 to 64.For 2014 to 2016 the table contains estimates of people with a difficulty in hearing who self-reported they have a physical or mental health condition or illness lasting or expected to last for at least 12 months. For 2012 the table contains estimates of people with a difficulty in hearing who self-report that they have health problems or disabilities that they expect will last for more than a year.The break in the series occurred in 2013 as a result of the Office for National Statistics’ Annual Population Survey (APS) adopting a new standardised question on individuals with health problems. The question was changed from: "Do you have any health problems or disabilities that you expect will last for more than a year?" to the standardised version: "Do you have any physical or mental health conditions or illnesses lasting or expecting to last 12 months or more?".The Annual Population Survey asks people if they experience any health conditions from a list and respondents are able to select multiple health conditions. If an individual responds with ‘difficulty in hearing’ they will be included in the people with a difficulty in hearing (either as their main long term health condition or alongside a different main long term health condition). Respondents are also asked: “Which of these is your main health problem/disability?” If an individual answers a ‘difficulty in hearing’ then only these individuals are included in the people whose main long term health condition is a difficulty in hearing group.Difficulty in hearing is considered without the use of a hearing aid.Data is subject to sampling variation.Estimates are based on small sample sizes and are therefore subject to a margin of uncertainty. Due to these small sample sizes, some of the differences between years may not be statistically significant. Therefore, these estimates and differences between them should be treated with caution.

Personal Independence Payment

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, on what criteria his Department based its decision to extend the contracts of Atos Healthcare and Capita for personal independence payment assessments.

Penny Mordaunt: The terms of the PIP Contract included the option to extend the contract term for a further period of up to two years. DWP decided to exercise that option on the basis that the alternative would have been to conduct a re-tender process that would run through 2016/17 which could have carried delivery risk, associated with potential supplier change, during the first full year of the PIP Re-assessment period.

Personal Independence Payment: Epilepsy

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Minister of State for Disabled People, Work and Health on 27 March 2017, Official Report, columns 22-23, what form the increased clinical support that the Government brought in recently takes.

Penny Mordaunt: Clinical support leads are responsible for providing support and on the spot advice to Healthcare Professionals delivering assessments. All clinical support leads must have a minimum of 12 months experience working on PIP with an excellent track record in quality and other performance metrics. They will also have been successful at a competency based interview for a clinical management position.

Personal Independence Payment

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to review the effectiveness of the assessment criteria for personal independence payments; and if he will make a statement.

Penny Mordaunt: Since its inception, the system of assessing claimants’ eligibility for PIP has been continually reviewed and refined in order to improve its efficiency and effectiveness. We continue to work extensively with PIP assessment providers and disability representatives to make improvements to guidance, training and audit procedures in order to ensure a quality service is maintained. Furthermore, we introduced two comprehensive, statutory, independent reviews of the PIP Assessment. The second of Paul Grays Independent Reviews was published on 30 March 2017. We are considering the review’s recommendations carefully and will respond later this year.

Health and Safety Executive: Public Appointments

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of the Health and Safety Executive board are (a) women, (b) from black or minority ethnic backgrounds, (c) disabled and (d) from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

Penny Mordaunt: The HSE board currently consists of 11 members, including a representative from the board of the Office for Nuclear Regulation. The breakdown of the board members is as follows:(a) women: 36 per cent (4)(b) from black or minority ethnic backgrounds: 0(c) disabled: 0(d) from lower socio-economic backgrounds: we do not hold this information

Personal Independence Payment

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people receiving disability living allowance have been reassessed for personal independence payments in the (a) 16 to 24, (b) 25 to 39, (c) 40 to 54 and (d) 55 to 64 age range.

Penny Mordaunt: The information requested can be found in Stat-Xplore: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/. (Guidance on how to use Stat-Xplore can be found here:https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/index.html.) These statistics provide a breakdown, by age, of the number of PIP claims cleared for both new claims and Disability Living Allowance (DLA) reassessment claims for each month since PIP was introduced in April 2013. By adding together some of the age bands you will be able to calculate the number of people who previously received DLA and have been re-assessed for PIP for the age bands you require.

Social Security Benefits: Medical Examinations

Dr James Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether a person assessed in an employment and support allowance or personal independence payment assessment is entitled to a copy of the LIMA or PIPAT computer file report created by the HCP during that process.

Penny Mordaunt: A claimant can at any time request a copy of their LIMA or PIPAT report from our Medical Services Provider or from DWP.

Health and Safety Executive: Public Appointments

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, who makes appointments to the Board of the Health and Safety Executive; which other organisations or individuals provide advice on those appointments; and at what stage of the process such advice is provided.

Penny Mordaunt: Appointments to the board of the Health and Safety Executive are made by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in accordance with Schedule 2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, with the exception of the member representing the Office for Nuclear Regulation, who is appointed by ONR. In making the appointments, the legislation requires the Secretary of State to consult such organisations as are considered appropriate. This will vary depending on the type of appointment being made, but may include employer and employee representative organisations, such as trades unions, local authorities, or the devolved administrations. Consultation takes place at the point at which the board vacancies are advertised.

Housing Benefit: Private Rented Housing

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will bring forward proposals to ensure that housing benefit is paid direct only to landlords, or letting agents, who are Propertymark Protected.

Caroline Nokes: How benefit is paid to claimants is an important consideration in encouraging people to manage their own budget, particularly where it may help claimants moving in to work. That is why Housing Benefit payments in the private rented sector are usually made to the claimant rather than the Landlord. There are existing safeguards in place to help those people who cannot handle their own rent and benefit, including direct payment to Landlords in certain circumstances. There are no plans to change the operation of the Housing Benefit scheme. The government wants to support good Landlords who provide well maintained homes and avoid further regulation on them which increases costs and red tape, pushes up rents and reduces choice. A range of measures were introduced through the Housing and Planning Act 2016 to crack down on rogue Landlords and we plan to implement these measures in 2017.

Employment and Support Allowance: Data Protection

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans he has to safeguard sensitive personal data potentially discussed in the proposed new health and work conversation for employment and support allowance claimants; and if he will make a statement.

Penny Mordaunt: Claimants will not be required to disclose sensitive personal data as part of the (HWC). The paperwork from the HWC is taken away by the claimant at the end of the conversation. DWP staff will update records to show that the HWC has taken place, record any voluntary actions and any support offered by DWP. The Department treats the protection of sensitive personal data extremely seriously and safeguards such data in compliance with the Data Protection Act and in accordance with Departmental security policies and standards;

Jobcentres: Glasgow

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many public access computer terminals there are for searching Universal Jobmatch and applying for universal credit across the Jobcentre Plus network in the Glasgow South West constituency.

Damian Hinds: There are currently 16 customer access computers in the Glasgow South West constituency, and customers also have the option of using their own personal devices by connecting to the free Wi-Fi in Jobcentres. Customers are able to access Universal Jobmatch or apply for Universal Credit from any computer. Where customers can access our services independently they are encouraged to do so. However, we also provide an assisted service for customers that require additional support to use the computers.

Housing Benefit: Young People

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of changes to housing benefit for 18 to 21 year olds on local authority spending on temporary accommodation and other support in (a) Tottenham constituency, (b) the London Borough of Haringey, (c) London and (d) the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of changes to housing benefit for unemployed 18 to 21 year olds on homelessness in (a) Tottenham constituency, (b) the London Borough of Haringey, (c) London and (d) the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Nokes: There are no plans to change the eligibility rules in housing benefit with respect to claimants aged 18 to 21 years. From 1st April 2017 those in this age group making claims to Universal Credit in Full Service areas have been unable to receive help with housing costs unless an exemption applies. The comprehensive list of claimants who are exempt includes those unable to live with their parents. Because those subject to this policy will always have the option of returning to the parental home the Government does not expect there to be any impact on homelessness or on local authority expenditure on temporary accommodation.

Employment Schemes

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2017 to Question 60322, on what date the final referrals to Work Choice will be made.

Penny Mordaunt: We are extending Work Choice in England and Wales to ensure ongoing specialist provision for disabled customers ahead of the Work and Health Programme which is expected to be implemented from November 2017 to March 2018 Referrals to Work Choice will continue until at least 30th September 2017 with a current planned delivery period up until at least 31st March 2019. Final Work Choice referral and delivery end dates will be reviewed once the details of the implementation of the Work and Health Programme are finalised.

Homelessness: Coventry

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of changes to housing benefit for unemployed 18 to 21-year olds on levels of homelessness in (a) Coventry South constituency and (b) the City of Coventry.

Caroline Nokes: This policy affects Universal Credit recipients only, not Housing Benefit recipients. There is a wide range of exemptions from this policy which will ensure that vulnerable people are protected. As the policy will only apply to those who have no impediment to a return to the parental home I do not anticipate that there will be any impact on the levels of homelessness.

Employment and Support Allowance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work of 18 April 2017, Official Report, columns 650-51, which suppliers of (a) telecoms and (b) energy offer social tariffs to claimants of employment and support allowance in the work-related activity group.

Penny Mordaunt: BT (and KCom in the Hull area) offer a social tariff for home phone and broadband under EU and domestic legislation. Whilst no specific tariffs are offered by the main energy providers, the Money Advice Service found that people could save money by switching. There has been an improvement in the switching infrastructure to help customers and Work Coaches are now able to direct claimants to switching services through the new “managing you money” leaflet.

Personal Independence Payment

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of disability living allowance reassessments, including cases following either a mandatory reconsideration or an appeal, have resulted in (a) a lower or (b) no award of personal independence payment.

Penny Mordaunt: The latest available data on the outcome of the initial decision on each disability living allowance reassessment to personal independence payment (PIP) can be found in table 8B of the statistical tables released in December 2016 here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/576641/pip-official-statistics-dla-to-pip-reassessment-outcomes-october-2016.ods The information requested for cases following a mandatory reconsideration or an appeal is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Carer's Allowance: West Bromwich East

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in West Bromwich East constituency receive carer's allowance.

Penny Mordaunt: The information requested on the number of individuals in receipt of Carer’s Allowance by parliamentary constituency is published and available at: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk Guidance for users is available at: https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html

Children: Poverty

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reasons the number of children in relative low-income households increased between 2014-15 and 2015-16.

Damian Hinds: Latest Households Below Average Income (HBAI) data on low income rates for children showed an increase of 1 percentage point between 2014/15 and 2015/16 on a relative basis (for both before and after housing costs), whereas it was unchanged on an absolute basis. These estimates are from sample survey data and subject to statistical uncertainty. The increases in relative low income were not statistically significant, which means we cannot say with high confidence the change is a real one, rather than due to having a different sample for this year of the survey. As such, focus should be more on longer-term trends rather than small year-on-year changes. Full explanations of the trends in low income rates are available in HBAI:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/households-below-average-income-199495-to-201516

Pensioners: Poverty

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reasons pensioner poverty increased between 2014-15 and 2015-16.

Richard Harrington: Latest Households Below Average Income (HBAI) data on low income rates for pensioners showed increases between 2014/15 and 2015/16 on a relative and absolute basis. None of the increases in low income rates were statistically significant, which means we cannot say with high confidence the change is a real one, rather than due to having a different sample for this year of the survey.These estimates are from sample survey data and subject to statistical uncertainty. Small changes on a year-to-year basis are particularly subject to these uncertainties and it is therefore difficult to identify causality. As such, focus should be more on longer-term trends rather than small year-on-year changes. Full explanations of the trends in low income rates are available in HBAI:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/households-below-average-income-199495-to-201516

Social Security Benefits

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his Department's impact assessment of 25 August 2016 on the lower benefit cap, if he will publish the refined estimates of the operational costs of implementing that cap and of providing support to capped claimants.

Caroline Nokes: The Department for Work and Pensions does not plan to publish estimates of the operational costs of implementing the benefit cap policy, nor the costs of providing support to capped claimants. The benefit cap was lowered on the 7th November from £26,000 to £20,000, except in London where it was lowered to £23,000 (a lower cap applies to single adult households). To help ensure Local Authorities are able to protect the most vulnerable Housing Benefit claimants and to support households adjusting to our welfare reforms, the Government will provide over £800m funding for Discretionary Housing Payments over the next 5 years from 2016/17. Information about this and other measures to ease the transition for families affected by this policy change is included in the latest impact assessment at the link below. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/welfare-reform-and-work-act-impact-assessment-for-the-benefit-cap

Home Office

Hate Crime: Convictions

Craig Whittaker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many incidences of online (a) hate crime, (b) anti-Semitism and (c) Islamophobia have resulted in convictions in the last (i) 12, (ii) 24 and (iii) 36 months.

Sarah Newton: Conviction data for hate crime does not differentiate between hate crimes committed online and offline.The Government is committed to tackling all forms of hate crime and we published a new cross-Government hate crime action plan in July last year. This includes action against hate crimes committed both online and offline.

Crossbows: Sales

Alex Chalk: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans the Government has to review controls on the online sale of crossbows.

Sarah Newton: We keep the legislation on age restricted items, including crossbows, under review to ensure it remains relevant and robust. It is an offence to sell a crossbow to a person under 18 years of age, and that includes online sales. If an online retailer has made an underage sale they should be reported to the police or trading standards so that inquiries can be made.

Home Office: Staff

Mike Gapes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many nationals of each of the other 27 EU countries were employed by (a) her Department and (b) UK Visas and Immigration in (i) 2013, (ii) 2014, (iii) 2015 and (iv) 2016.

Sarah Newton: Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks, but there is no requirement on departments to retain this information beyond the point at which it has served its purpose.

Vetting: Greater London

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Disclosure and Barring Service applications from (a) Camberwell and Peckham constituency and (b) London took more than 60 days to process in each of the last five years.

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average time for a Disclosure and Barring Service application to be processed from (a) Camberwell and Peckham constituency and (b) London was in each of the last five years.

Sarah Newton: The total number of applications to the Disclosure and Barring Service issued to people living in (a) Camberwell and Peckham constituency and (b) London that have taken more than 60 days to process in each of the last five financial years are listed in table A below.The average time for a Disclosure and Barring Service application to be processed from (a) Camberwell and Peckham constituency and (b) London in each of the five financial years is listed in table B below. Table A:  Camberwell & PeckhamLondon Total disclosures despatchedDisclosures taking more than 60 DaysTotal disclosures despatchedDisclosures taking more than 60 Days2012/1314,467274681,9319,8832013/1414,082682666,31822,7212014/1514,1441,769701,16968,2642015/1613,9572,364713,43894,9072016/17 to 31-Jan-1712,2052,528624,040101,721Table B Camberwell & Peckham London  Total Disclosures DespatchedAverage Turnaround Time (days)Total Disclosures DespatchedAverage Turnaround Time (days)2012/1314,46712.28681,93111.132013/1414,08214.83666,31812.792014/1514,14419.87701,16917.32015/1613,95726.62713,43821.872016/17 to 31-Jan-1712,20537.78624,04030.49

Members: Correspondence

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to answer Question 59275 on marriages of convenience tabled by the hon. Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale on 10 January 2017.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The hon. Member's question was answered on 9 March 2017.

Asylum: Children

Mr Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 6 March 2017 to Question 66137, on asylum: children, if she will provide directly the information requested in that Question; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The information requested is readily available in the public domain. The latest figures are available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-october-to-december-2016/list-of-tables#asylum

Firearms: Children

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many children under 14 in England and Wales hold certificates that allow them to use shotguns under the supervision of an adult.

Brandon Lewis: The Home Office publishes National Statistics on firearm and shotgun certificates issued by the police in England and Wales annually.The latest published figures show that as at 1 April 2016, there were 313 children under 14 years of age who held a shotgun certificate.The latest firearm and shotgun certificates statistical release can be accessed online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/firearm-and-shotgun-certificates-in-england-and-wales-financial-year-ending-march-2016

Police Custody: Closures

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many custody suites in police stations were closed in 2015-16.

Brandon Lewis: The information requested is not held centrally.

Home Office: Finance

Stuart C. McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which projects and initiatives in her Department are funded in full or in part by the EU; and what plans she has to maintain that level of funding from the public purse after the UK leaves the EU.

Mr Robert Goodwill: At present the UK remains in the EU with all the rights and obligations that memberships entail. This means the UK continues to pay into and receive EU funds. Any changes will be subject to the outcome of exit negotiations.

Cybercrime

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the merits of creating a new criminal offence of the possession of illegally obtained information as a deterrent against organised cybercrime.

Brandon Lewis: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 4 April 2017, UIN 69425.

Aviation: Natural Disasters

Byron Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to use general aviation airfields and volunteer pilots to enhance emergency supply chains during natural disasters such as floods.

Brandon Lewis: These matters are the responsibility of the Cabinet Office and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. They deal with complex supply chains and flooding respectively.

Cryptography: Banks

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with the banking sector on end-to-end encryption technology in the last 12 months.

Mr Ben Wallace: I refer the hon. Member to the answer of 18 April 2017, UIN 69676.

Hotels: Offences against Children

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to raise awareness within the hotel industry of child sexual exploitation.

Sarah Newton: The Government has funded a network of police regional child sexual exploitation (CSE) coordinators, analysts and prevention officers, who will work with local areas and hotels to prevent CSE, for example through training for hotel staff. We have also launched a CSE Response Unit, which provides support and free resources to local areas to raise awareness of CSE.The Government introduced powers in the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 to disrupt offending in hotels. These provisions enable the police to serve notices on hotels requiring them to provide them with the names and addresses of guests and the power to close down hotels where child sex offences have taken place or are likely to take place.

Home Office: Management Consultants

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 7 March 2017 to Question 65688, how much of the procurement spending of her Department was for the services of management consultants in each of those years.

Sarah Newton: Information on Consultancy Services is published in the Home Office’s Annual Report and Accounts. Copies of the Annual Report and Accounts are available in the House library.

St Pancras Station: Immigration Controls

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many ePassport gates there are at St Pancras International Station; and what proportion of those gates have been fully functional on each day since their introduction.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Border Force does not have ePassport Gates at St Pancras International. The ePassport Gates at St Pancras are owned and operated by the French Police aux Frontières or PAF, (a division of the Police Nationale).

Home Office: Conditions of Employment

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of staff employed by her Department are employed on a contract which is (a) full-time permanent, (b) part-time permanent, (c) for less than two years' duration, (d) on an agency basis and (e) zero-hours.

Sarah Newton: The Home Office does not employ anyone on zero-hours contracts, the proportion of people employed on the remaining contract types is shown in table 1.Table 1 - how many and what proportion of staff employed by her Department are employed on a contract which is (a) full-time permanent, (b) part-time permanent, (c) for less than two years' duration, (d) on an agency basis and (e) zero-hours. Appointment TypeHeadcount%a) Full-time Permanent22,29369.29%b) Part-time Permanent6,20119.27%c) Less than 2 years duration9753.03%d) Agency1,1813.67%e) zero hours00.00%f) Other1,5224.73%Grand Total32,173100.00%Data Source: Data View - Office for National Statistics compliant monthly snapshot corporate Human Resources data for Home Office.Period Covered: Figures as at 31st March 2017.Extraction Date: 1st April 2017.Organisational Coverage: Figures include Home Office.Employee Coverage: Data is based on headcount of all paid and unpaid civil servants and non civil servants who were current at 31st March 2017.Note: 'Other' staff include Incoming Loans & Secondments and Contractors.

Overseas Visitors: Zimbabwe

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of applications for visitor visas from nationals of Zimbabwe were granted in each of the last five years.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Information on the number of all visit visa applications, grants, refusals, withdrawals and lapsed cases is published quarterly; latest data in the Home Office’s ‘Immigration Statistics, October - December 2016’, Visa data tables volume 1, table vi_01_q, and volume 3 (grants broken down by nationality) table vi_06_q_o , available from https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-october-to-december-2016/list-of-tables#visas

Home Office: Land

Mr Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to paragraphs 1.296 and 1.297 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, what progress her Department has made by estimated capacity of land sold since March 2016 in identifying and disposing of land to meet the Government's commitment.

Sarah Newton: The Home Office estate is comprised of a wide range of premises, including administrative offices, Border Force sites, Immigration Removal Centres and other holdings. The vast majority of the estate is leasehold and there have been no sales of property assets in 2016-17.We keep the Home Office estate under review to ensure that it meets the needs of the business.

Asylum: Children

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many children who arrived in the UK under the Dublin III Regulation in 2016 were assessed under section 17 of the Children Act 1989.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Government takes its responsibilities towards children extremely seriously and works with Local Authorities to ensure all necessary checks are undertaken to ensure any child’s safety, including those children who are transferred to the UK under the Dublin III Regulation. It is for the local authority to determine what assessments to undertake based on the circumstances of individual children and families, the Home Office does not hold data on the number of children that were transferred to the UK under the Dublin Regulation who have been assessed under section 17 of the Children Act 1989.

Offences against Children

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the time taken to examine electronic devices in suspected child sexual exploitation cases.

Sarah Newton: The approach taken by police forces into the examination of digital devices in suspected child sexual exploitation cases is an operational matter for Chief Officers.All police forces and the National Crime Agency (NCA) are connected to the Child Abuse Image Database (CAID) that was launched in 2014 by the then Prime Minister. CAID provides law enforcement agencies with effective tools to search seized devices for indecent images of children (IIOC), reduce the time taken to identify such images and increase the ability to identify victims. Recently, the NCA’s Child Exploitation & Online Protection (CEOP) Command were able to use CAID to review one of their largest ever seizures within 6 weeks. Based on the case size, before CAID this would have taken a minimum of 6 months to review.

Asylum

Anna Turley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that the decision-making process for asylum claims takes full account of the extent of abuse and torture which applicants may have endured.

Mr Robert Goodwill: All members of staff who make decisions in asylum receive training on international and domestic law and safeguarding issues supplemented by a mentoring programme with an experienced caseworker that can last up to 6 months. Within the training there are specific sections that detail torture and Medico Legal Reports and how they should be used and analysed in asylum claims.The Home Office are working closely with Freedom from Torture and other key partners to review and make further improvements to the decision making process and training relating to asylum claims involving survivors of abuse and torture.

Asylum: Children

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many unaccompanied asylum seeking children were screened in (a) Croydon and (b) Salford in each year between 2010 and 2016.

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what financial assistance is provided for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children to travel to their screening interview.

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether it is her Department's policy to allow unaccompanied asylum-seeking children to be screened as close to their home in the UK as possible.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Asylum seeking children can arrive or be encountered in the UK in a variety of ways. The full policy and guidance for processing such claims is set out in the Processing Children’s Asylum Claims instruction which is published:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/537010/Processing-children_s-asylum-claims-v1.pdfWhen an asylum seeking child is encountered they will undergo a welfare interview in order to record their basic information and identify any immediate welfare concerns. Those unaccompanied children who are unable to travel to the Asylum Intake Unit in Croydon are able to register their claim and undergo a welfare interview at the nearest available Home Office location. It is not possible to determine how many unaccompanied asylum seeking children have had welfare interviews in different locations without an examination of individual records which could only be achieved at disproportionate cost.In July 2016 the Government significantly increased the funding it provides to local authorities who look after UASC. Local authorities now receive £41,610 per annum year for each unaccompanied asylum-seeking child aged under 16 and £33,215 per annum for unaccompanied asylum-seeking child aged 16 and 17. This represents a 20% and 28% increase in funding respectively.

Asylum: Children

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many unaccompanied children claimed asylum in (a) the UK, (b) the North West, (c) Greater Manchester and (d) Wigan in the last 12 months.

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many children have ben reunited with family members in (a) the UK, (b) the North West, (c) Greater Manchester and (d) Wigan under the Dublin III Regulation in the last 12 months.

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many unaccompanied asylum-seeking children have been looked after by local authorities in (a) the UK, (b) the North West, (c) Greater Manchester and (d) Wigan in the last 12 months.

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many unaccompanied asylum-seeking children have been placed in (a) the UK, (b) the North West, (c) Greater Manchester and (d) Wigan under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016 in the last 12 months.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Annual Figures on the number of claims for asylum from Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC), including by country of nationality, are published quarterly by the Home Office in the Immigration Statistics release. A copy of the latest release, Immigration Statistics to December 2016, is available from:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-october-to-december-2016/asylumA breakdown of these figures by region, city and immigration status is not available.The Government is committed to ensuring that there is a more equitable distribution of UASC across the country and that no one authority has to care for more UASC than they are able to, including those transferred to the UK under Section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016. That is why we introduced the voluntary National Transfer Scheme and have consulted with every region in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland on their capacity. Every region in England is participating in the National Transfer Scheme and we are working closely with the Devolved Administrations to ensure they are able to accept cases under the National Transfer Scheme. We are very grateful for the way in which local authorities have stepped up to accept UASC under the National Transfer Scheme. We will continue to work closely with local authorities to take up offers of placements to help ease the burden on those local authorities caring for a disproportionate number of UASC.

Asylum

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her policy is on refused asylum seekers who comply with her Department's requirements but have no immediate prospect of leaving the UK.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The UK has a long and proud tradition of providing a safe haven to those who genuinely need our protection.For those who do not need protection they are expected to return home if their claim is refused and dismissed on appeal. All asylum and human rights claims are carefully considered on their individual merits in accordance with the UK’s obligations under the 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the European Convention on Human Rights.Where a decision has been made that a person does not require international protection, and there are no remaining rights of appeal or obstacles to their return, the Home Office expects unsuccessful asylum seekers to return voluntarily to their home country. The Home Office can assist persons who wish to return voluntarily. The Home Office’s preferred option is for those who have no legal basis to remain in the UK to leave voluntarily and we offer assistance to those who choose to do so by actively promoting the Home Office Voluntary Return Service. This service offers confidential advice and information to asylum seekers, refugees and people who have remained in the UK without legal status and should return home on a voluntary basis. Individuals who fall within the above categories can obtain further advice by telephoning: 0300 004 0202 or by accessing the website at: www.gov.uk/return-home-voluntarilyIf an individual does not leave the UK voluntarily, then it may become necessary to enforce their removal. The Home Office closely monitors developments in all countries of return and takes decisions on a case-by-case basis in the light of international obligations and the latest available country information. The Home Office only enforces removal when it and the courts conclude that it is safe to do so, with a safe route of return.Enforced removals are carried out in the most sensitive way possible, treating those being removed with respect and courtesy. Details of total numbers of cases who have had asylum claims refused and have no basis to remain having exhausted all appeal rights can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/asylum-transparency-data-february-2017

Drugs

Ian C. Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many prosecutions for possession of synthetic cannabinoids have been commenced since changes in the law relating to synthetic cannabinoids were introduced on 16 December 2016.

Ian C. Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken to communicate changes in the law relating to synthetic cannabinoids made on 14 December 2016 to police services and local authorities in the UK.

Ian C. Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to assess the effect on levels of use of synthetic cannabinoids of changes in the law relating to those drugs made on 16 December 2016.

Sarah Newton: Data on prosecutions involving the possession of synthetic cannabinoids (frequently sold under the brand name ‘Spice’) is not currently available. Data for the calendar year 2017 will be published in May 2018.The Government published circular 10/2016 which was sent to police forces across the UK to promote the changes to legislation. The Government continues to regularly engage the National Police Chiefs’ Council and police forces about ongoing problems with new psychoactive substances.As with the scheduling of other drug types, there are no current plans to conduct a formal evaluation of this specific change. However, the Government will continue to monitor trends in the use of new psychoactive substances, and in late 2018 it will publish a statutory review of the operation of the Psychoactive Substances Act, which will consider the interactions between the PSA and the Misuse of Drugs Act.

Refugees: Children

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of stateless children in the UK.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The UK is a signatory to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. In April 2013, the UK introduced Immigration Rules to allow stateless persons to be formally recognised as stateless and granted leave to remain where they do not otherwise qualify under any other provisions and cannot be removed to the country of their former habitual residence because they are not admissible for purposes of residence there. Those who have committed serious crimes or are considered to be a danger to the security or the public order of the UK are not eligible for stateless leave. Those who qualify under the Immigration Rules are normally granted 30 months limited leave to remain and can apply for further leave when that expires. They are eligible to apply for settlement after completing 5 years limited leave.Stateless persons and their dependent children, who believe that they have a fear of return to their home country, can also make an application for asylum under the 1951 Refugee Convention. Those who qualify under the Immigration Rules are normally granted limited leave to remain for a 5 year period, with the option to apply for settlement when that leave expires. A stateless person may also make an application to register as a British citizen, if they are not recognised as a citizen of any country, providing they meet the qualifying criteria.The Home Office shares information with UNHCR relating to statelessness. UNHCR publishes information and releases regular trend reports. The latest trend report by UNHCR can be found at:http://www.unhcr.org/uk/statistics/unhcrstats/58aa8f247/mid-year-trends-june-2016.html

Refugees: Families

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many vulnerable adult women refugees, including gender-based violence survivors, pregnant refugee women and women with newly born children under 12 months have been identified for family reunion with extended family they have in the UK under the Dublin III regulation.

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken to identify vulnerable adult women refugees, including gender-based violence survivors, pregnant refugee women, or women with newly born children under 12 months, who could be eligible for refugee family reunion with extended family they have in the UK, in line with the Dublin Regulation's discretionary clause.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Government continues to work with key EU Member States to ensure the Dublin Regulation family reunification process works effectively. We will always fully consider any request made to the UK to unite family members under the Dublin Regulation. Where someone seeking asylum elsewhere in the EU can demonstrate they have close family members legally in the UK, we will continue to meet our obligations under the Dublin Regulation and accept responsibility for processing such claims. At present we do not publish data on cases covered by the Dublin Regulation. Eurostat, the EU’s statistics agency, regularly publishes Member State figures, which can be found at:http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Dublin_statistics_on_countries_responsible_for_asylum_application

Proof of Identity

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have purchased the Proof of Age Standards scheme card since its launch in 2000.

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Proof of Age Standards Scheme.

Sarah Newton: The Proof of Age Standards scheme is an important partner in ensuring that individuals entitled to age-restricted services are able to purchase them. The Government continues to work closely with the scheme in a number of policy areas, such as the sale of alcohol and encouraging people to obtain proof of age cards accredited by the scheme as an alternative to carrying passports. The Government does not hold information on the number of users that have purchased PASS cards since its launch in 2000.

St Pancras Station: Immigration Controls

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the change in the amount of time taken to access the platforms at St Pancras International station since the introduction of e-Passport gates.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Border Force does not have ePassport Gates at St Pancras International. The ePassport Gates at St Pancras are owned and operated by the French Police aux Frontières or PAF, (a division of the Police Nationale).

Asylum: Housing

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many refused asylum seekers were granted accommodation under Section 4(2) of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 by country of origin in 2016.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The government expects those who have been refused asylum and who have no lawful basis to remain in the UK to leave at the earliest opportunity. If there is a genuine obstacle that prevents a failed asylum seeker's departure from the UK and they are destitute, they can apply for support under section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. The Home Office publishes quarterly figures on the number of asylum seekers in receipt of support, including under Section 4, in table as_18q in volume 4 of the Asylum data tables. These are available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-october-to-december-2016/asylum#data-tables

Asylum: Children

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many unaccompanied children were granted asylum in the UK in the last 12 months, by nationality.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Home Office publishes the number of initial decisions on asylum applications from Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children, in each quarter by nationality, in table as_09_q of the Immigration Statistics release. The latest figures are available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/593029/asylum3-q4-2016-tables.ods

Sexual Harm Prevention Orders

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many sexual harm prevention orders were granted in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012, (d) 2013, (e) 2014, (f) 2015 and (g) 2016.

Brandon Lewis: These figures are not collated centrally. The most recently published figures, given in response to the Honourable Member for Rotherham on 28 January 2016, show that between the introduction of the Sexual Harm Prevention Order in March 2015 and September 2015 2,425 full and 40 interim Sexual Harm Prevention Orders were issued in England and Wales.

Asylum: Children

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what specialist mental health support is provided to unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in the UK.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Home Office notify the relevant local authority of the arrival of any unaccompanied asylum seeking child in the UK so that they can consider the best course of action and necessary support for that specific child.  If at any stage of the asylum process, Home Office staff have welfare or safeguarding concerns about a child, including concerns about their mental health, they immediately refer the child to the local authority children’s service to consider the best course of action.

Home Office: Secondment

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff are seconded to her Department; and how many such staff  are seconded from which companies and organisations.

Sarah Newton: The Home Office currently has 387 people on loan or secondment to it from a variety of different public and private sector organisations (as at 31st March 2017). The information on which company or organisation they are on loan or secondment from is not held centrally, the information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Distributive Trade: Employment Agencies

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the implications for modern slavery of the use of third party agencies to supply temporary workers in the retail and distribution sectors.

Sarah Newton: Modern slavery can occur in all sectors of business or industry. We are determined to reduce the risk of worker exploitation in all sectors. That is why we have appointed a Director of Labour Market Enforcement. The Director will advise the Government on the threat and how best to counter it. All businesses must stay vigilant to prevent modern slavery and other forms of worker exploitation in their supply chains.

Europol

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the Government's policy is on the UK's membership of Europol after the UK has left the EU.

Brandon Lewis: As the Prime Minister has set out, one of the objectives for the negotiations ahead is to continue practical cooperation with the EU to tackle cross-border crime and to keep our people safe.We are examining the options for cooperation arrangements once the UK has left the EU but it would be wrong to set out unilateral positions on specific measures as we enter negotiations.

Offences against Children

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps her Department has taken to reduce the number of child sexual offences.

Sarah Newton: In February 2017, the Government published its Tackling Child Sexual Exploitation: Progress Report which reported that 90% of the actions in the March 2015 Tackling Child Sexual Exploitation Report had been delivered, including investment in the frontline response to child sexual abuse, e.g. recruiting around an extra 100 specialist rape and child sexual abuse prosecutors, establishing new investigative teams in the National Crime Agency, and launching a new Child Sexual Exploitation Response Unit to support social care, health and other agencies.In February the Government announced a £40 million package of measures to protect children and young people from sexual abuse, exploitation and trafficking and to crack down on offenders. The package included £7.5 million for a new ground-breaking Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse, an extra £20 million for the National Crime Agency to tackle online child sexual exploitation, and £2.2 million for organisations working to protect children at risk of trafficking.

British Nationality

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people were deprived of UK citizenship for actions seriously prejudicial to the vital interests of the UK in each of the three years since the Immigration Act 2014 has come into force.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Except where someone has fraudulently obtained British citizenship, deprivation of citizenship is only pursued against dual nationals where the Home Secretary is satisfied that the statutory test that deprivation of citizenship would be “conducive to the public good”, is met. To date, deprivation of citizenship on conducive grounds has been focused on protecting the UK from those involved in terrorism, unacceptable extremist behaviour, espionage or serious organised crime.

Asylum: Children

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that children who have family in the UK who were affected by the Dunkirk refugee camp fire are reunited with their families as soon as possible.

Mr Robert Goodwill: We are in ongoing dialogue with the French authorities regarding the incident at the Dunkirk camp. The primary responsibility for unaccompanied children in Europe lies with the State in which they are present. We are committed to making sure that the Dublin III Regulation works effectively to ensure that unaccompanied asylum-seeking children are reunited as soon as possible with any close family members in the UK, as set out in the Regulation.Under the Dublin III Regulation, an unaccompanied child must first claim asylum in the EU Member State in which they are present, and that Member State must then raise a take charge request with the UK Government. It is therefore vital that children remaining in France who have close family in the UK engage with the French authorities to make an asylum claim and enable the process to start.

Drugs: Misuse

Dr Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the Government's new Drug Strategy will be published.

Sarah Newton: We are currently developing the new Drug Strategy, working across government and with key partners. The new strategy will be published in due course.

Politics and Government: Nigeria

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the safety of returning supporters of Biafran independence to Nigeria.

Mr Robert Goodwill: In accordance with our international obligations, the UK is required to consider asylum and human rights applications carefully on their individual merits. The Government takes its international responsibilities seriously and will grant protection to those in genuine need.Each individual assessment of an asylum claim is made against the background of the latest available country of origin information and any relevant caselaw. The country of origin information is based on evidence taken from a range of reliable sources, including reputable media outlets; local, national and international organisations, including human rights organisations; and information from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.No country specific guidance has been issued on asylum applications made by supporters of Biafran independence. However, where a particular issue is raised in an individual application caseworkers can request the latest available country information on that issue through an information request service.

Overseas Students: Undocumented Migrants

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many non-EU students were unaccounted for at the end of their courses in each of the last five years.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Over time the data obtained through exit checks will contribute to the statistical picture.The Home Office is continuing to assess and analyse elements of the exit check data collected in relation to specific cohorts to understand the extent to which estimates provided are statistically robust. This level of detail is not yet available.

Aviation: USA

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what equalities monitoring her Department conducts on actions by (a) US immigration officials present at UK airports pursuant to an arrangement in place between the UK and US Governments and (b) airline personnel who refuse passengers permission to board flights to the US; and what steps her Department has taken to ensure that equalities monitoring occurs with respect to travel to the US from selected majority Muslim countries.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Under the US International Advisory Program (IAP), US Customs and Border Protection officers operate in a strictly advisory capacity and can only make recommendations to airlines on whether to allow travel.

Members: Correspondence

Mr David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to the letter of 6 March 2017 from the hon. Member for Walsall North concerning a constituent, ref T1183944.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Home Office replied on 20 April 2017.

Crime

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the effect of changes to her Department's funding for (a) police forces in England and Wales and (b) the West Midlands Police Force on their ability to reduce all types of crime.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effect of changes to police budgets on the ability of police forces accurately to record crimes in the last five years.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what priority she has given to the rising incidence of all forms of fraud in her allocation of the 2017-18 police budget in England and Wales.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much of the total police budget was used to tackle (a) fraud and (b) online abuse in each of the last five years.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much the police budget for England and Wales has decreased by in real terms since 2010.

Brandon Lewis: The Government protected overall police spending in the 2015 Spending Review, and the 2017/18 police funding settlement maintains that commitment.Every Police & Crime Commissioner who maximised their local precept income in 2016/17 and 2017/18 will receive at least the same direct resource funding in cash that they received in 2015/16.Ministers make decisions on police funding to benefit policing as a whole. It is a matter for Chief Constables, working with their Police and Crime Commissioners, to manage their available resources according to local priorities. The Government does not assess police spending on each area of demand. However, I can confirm that we have provided over £2.5m to the City of London Police in respect of their lead force role in tackling fraud.In its commentary on crime statistics the independent Office for National Statistics points to improved crime recording practice by police forces as an important factor in explaining increases in police recorded crime, which we welcome. HMIC’s rolling programme of crime data integrity inspections will keep the spotlight on forces to improve the accuracy of their crime recording.

Driving under Influence: Drugs

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how long it took to award type approval to drugalysers.

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reasons type approval of mobile evidential breathtesting equipment has taken longer than that of drugalysers.

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her policy is on the use of mobile evidential breathtesting equipment.

Brandon Lewis: The Type Approval Guide for station-based devices was released in May 2012, and a device was approved for use seven months later in December 2012. The type approval Guide for mobile devices was released in August 2013, with devices approved for use 16 months later in December 2014 and 18 months later in February 2015.The Government recognises that drink driving is a serious threat to road safety and shares the police’s desire to have roadside evidential breath test instruments available for use as soon as practicably possible. That is why the Home Office, Department for Transport and the police have been working with manufacturers towards the Type Approval of a new generation of Mobile Evidential Breath Test Instruments (MEBTI).The requirements of Home Office type approval is supported by a stringent and robust process to ensure that evidence from an approved instrument can be relied upon in Court. The ability to type approve also depends on the submission by manufacturers of instruments that meet the technical specification requirements and perform satisfactorily during testing. The Home Office has no control over the maturity of instruments submitted into the type approval process, nor of the performance during testing of any device submitted and therefore no control over the timeframes for type approval.

Crimes of Violence: Females

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment the Government has made of the ability of local commissioners to fulfil the aims of the National Statement of Expectations for Violence Against Women and Girls.

Sarah Newton: Through our Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy we have published a National Statement of Expectations (NSE) setting out a clear blueprint for local action. We consulted widely with commissioners, the voluntary and community sector and statutory stakeholders in the development of the NSE, which is based on existing best practice. The NSE will help promote better local collaboration and joint leadership, encourage new approaches incorporating early intervention, and establish and embed the best ways to help victims, survivors and their families.To support local implementation we have published a Commissioning Toolkit, which provided practical advice and launched the £15 million VAWG Service Transformation fund, which will encourage better collaboration and new, joined-up approaches between local commissioners and specialist VAWG service providers. We are actively developing mechanisms for monitoring implementation of the NSE, working with commissioners and experts from the specialist VAWG sector, to ensure that local services across the country provide the best support for victims and survivors of VAWG.

Police: Greater London

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police officers there have been in (a) the London Borough of Southwark and (b) London in each of the last seven years.

Brandon Lewis: The Home Office collects and publishes data biannually on the number of police officers in each police force area.The latest available data are published in the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales, 30 September 2016’ statistical bulletin, available here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-workforce-england-and-wales-30-september-2016The Home Office does not collect data at lower levels of geography, such as London boroughs.

Police: Finance

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether planned changes to the National Police Funding Formula will result in a reduction of funding for urban police forces.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that any proposed changes to the National Police Funding Formula accurately reflect demands on individual police forces.

Brandon Lewis: The Government has been clear that existing arrangements for distributing core grant funding to police force areas in England and Wales need to be reformed. The current arrangements are complex and outdated and do not reflect the demands of modern policingWe have committed to replacing it with a fairer, more transparent and more evidence-based formula. To achieve this we are engaging in detail with police leaders, Police and Crime Commissioners and independent experts. We have also invited input from the wider policing sector, including Ministers operating an open door policy for all Police and Crime Commissioners and Chief Constables to share their views. Until this process is complete, we will not discuss any possible outcomes. No new arrangements will be put in place without a public consultation.

Asylum: Housing

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish a copy of the standard contract used for outsourcing the provision of homes for asylum seekers.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The suite of six COMPASS Contracts provides accommodation, transport and related services to asylum seekers. There are three providers who each deliver two regional contracts: G4S Care and Justice (UK) Ltd, Serco Ltd and Clearsprings Ready Homes Ltd. A published copy of these contracts can be accessed at:https://data.gov.uk/data/contracts-finder-archive/contract/503107/

British Nationality

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications for naturalisation to become a British citizen were (a) rejected on the grounds that the applicant was made bankrupt within 10 years of making the application and (b) accepted despite the applicant being bankrupt within 10 years of making the application in each year since 2015.

Mr Robert Goodwill: No statistical information is available showing how many applications for British citizenship have been rejected or accepted where the applicant had been made bankrupt.

Breathalysers

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress is being made by her Department on obtaining Home Office Type Approval for mobile evidential breath testing equipment.

Brandon Lewis: The Government recognises that drink driving is a serious threat to road safety and shares the police’s desire to have roadside evidential breath test instruments available for use.That is why the Home Office, Department for Transport and the police have been working with manufacturers towards the Type Approval of a new generation of Mobile Evidential Breath Test Instruments (MEBTI) as soon as practicably possible. Type approval is a complex process and relies on the submission by manufacturers of instruments which then perform satisfactorily during testing. The Home Office has no control over these factors.

Northern Ireland Office

Northern Ireland Office: Procurement

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of 1 March 2017 to Question 65004, on procurement,  what estimate he has made of the total budget for procurement management in each year since 2010.

Kris Hopkins: The Department does not have a specific budget for procurement management as the cost of this task is subsumed within existing corporate service roles and therefore not separately identified.

Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland: Public Appointments

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many applications the board of the Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland received during its last intake.

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, who makes appointments to the Board of the Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland; which other organisations or individuals provide advice on those appointments; and at what stage of the process they each do so.

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what proportion of the Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland board are (a) women, (b) from black or minority ethnic backgrounds, (c) disabled or (d) from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

Kris Hopkins: Under the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986 the deputy chair of the Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland must be a High Court judge appointed by the Lord Chief Justice for Northern Ireland. The Commission also has two members who are appointed by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. The appointment of members is regulated by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments (OCPA) and is carried out in line with the Governance Code for Public Appointments: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/578498/governance_code_on_public_appointments_16_12_2016.pdf. The last OCPA regulated process to recruit a member of the Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland was completed in December 2015. The selection panel for this competition considered 21 applications.

Northern Ireland Office: Land

Mr Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to paragraphs 1.296 and 1.297 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, what progress his Department has made by estimated capacity of land sold since March 2016 in identifying and disposing of land to meet the Government's commitment.

Kris Hopkins: The Department does not own any land.

Northern Ireland Office: Conditions of Employment

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many and what proportion of staff employed by his Department are employed on a contract which is (a) full-time permanent, (b) part-time permanent, (c) for less than two years' duration, (d) on an agency basis and (e) zero-hours.

Kris Hopkins: As of February 2017, the latest date for which data is available, the number and proportion of staff employed by the Department is as follows: a) Full- time permanent - 63 (78%);b) Part-time permanent - 5 (6%);c) Contract of less than 2 years - 1 (1%) (Apprentice on a 18-month contract);d) Agency staff - 5 (6%);e) Zero hours contract - 0.

Northern Ireland Office: Management Consultants

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of 28 February 2017 to Question 64400, how much of the spending on external contracts was for the services of management consultants in each year since 2010.

Kris Hopkins: None of the spending on external contracts was for the services of management consultants.

Northern Ireland Office: Secondment

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many staff are seconded to his Department; and how many such staff are seconded from which companies and organisations.

Kris Hopkins: As of February 2017, the latest date for which data is available, there are 30 staff seconded to the department from the Northern Ireland Civil Service.

Department of Health

Air Ambulance Services

Byron Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much public funding was provided to air ambulance organisations in each of the last five years.

Mr Philip Dunne: Air ambulance services are independent charities, and do not receive direct funding from the Department of Health or NHS England. Local air ambulance charities may receive resources from ambulance trusts or other National Health Service bodies but information on these NHS resources is not held centrally.

Department of Health: Data Protection

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many (a) official and (b) official sensitive documents have been recorded as lost by his Department since 8 May 2015.

David Mowat: The Department has had two reported data-related incidents since 8 May 2015 that involved the loss of electronic or physical documents.

Healthy Start Scheme

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many and what proportion of eligible people applied for the Healthy Start scheme in (a) 2015-16 and (b) 2016-17 to date; and what plans his Department has to increase uptake of that scheme.

Nicola Blackwood: The figures for take-up of the Healthy Start scheme for 2015-16 and 2016-17 are as follows: - Between 6 April 2015 and 3 April 2016, 197,842 eligible beneficiaries were invited to apply. 208,486 applications were received, of which 147,124 were approved as meeting the criteria (74%).- Between 4 April 2016 and 5 March 2017, 198,319 eligible beneficiaries were invited to apply. 172,020 applications were received, of which 125,134 were approved as meeting the criteria (63%). Expenditure on the Healthy Start Scheme is demand-led and based on the number of eligible people who apply for it. The Government is working to ensure that eligible families are aware of the scheme and how it can help them. It is promoted via the Healthy Start and Start4Life websites, reminding families to take up the vouchers. We are also exploring how digital technology could make it easier for people to receive Healthy Start benefits in the future, as part of the Government’s wider digital strategy. At a local level, midwives and health visitors play a key role in promoting awareness of the scheme.

Hospitals: Parking

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he plans to make concessions available to reduce hospital car-parking charges for unwaged student nurses.

Mr Philip Dunne: National Health Service trusts make decisions locally about the provision of car parking to patients, visitors and staff. Providing car parking results in NHS trusts incurring costs for equipment, signage, lighting, insurance, security, administration and maintenance. This money could otherwise be used to provide clinical care to patients. Therefore, decisions about charging staff for parking need to be carefully considered by NHS trusts in this context.

Department of Health: Security

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many security passes giving access to his Department's premises have been issued in each year since 2010.

David Mowat: The number of security passes issued by the Department to give access to the Department’s premises is shown in the following table: 20103662011453201249820131,46620144,12420153,18720163,4752017 January-March805

Department of Health: Security

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people holding security passes for other Government Departments are granted access to his Department's premises with that pass, by Department.

David Mowat: The Department does not keep records of passes issued by other Government Departments or the use of those passes to access its premises.

Department of Health: Staff

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people are currently employed by his Department.

David Mowat: The number of staff employed by the Department on 28 February 2017 is 1,309 full-time equivalent (FTE). In addition there are currently 149 FTE contingent workers.

Department of Health: Security

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many security passes giving access to his Department's premises are currently valid.

David Mowat: There are currently 7,798 valid secruity passes that give access to the Department’s premises that have been issued by the Department to employees of the Department and other occupants of its premises including its arms length bodies.

Blood: Donors

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when the Government plans to next review restrictions related to blood donation (a) in general and (b) on the deferral criterion for people classified as men who have sex with men.

Nicola Blackwood: The Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood Tissues and Organs is currently reviewing blood donor selection criteria, including the deferral period for men who have sex with men. The review is on track to be completed by summer 2017.

Veterans: Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many former service men and women were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder in each of the last five years.

David Mowat: This information is not collected centrally.

Incinerators: Health Hazards

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, on what date the Incinerators Study by the Small Area Health Statistics Unit will be published.

Nicola Blackwood: It is expected that the Small Area Health Statistics Unit will submit papers from the project to peer reviewed journals in spring 2017, with publication anticipated a few months after submission.

Department of Health: Secondment

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many staff are seconded to his Department; and how many such staff are seconded from which companies and organisations.

David Mowat: The Department does not hold this information centrally and it could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Chronic Illnesses

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the implementation of the UK Strategy for Rare Disease; and if he will make a statement.

Nicola Blackwood: The Government is committed to the implementation of the United Kingdom Strategy for Rare Diseases that sets out a long-term strategic vision for improving the lives of people with rare diseases and conditions. The coordinated implementation of the UK Strategy for Rare Diseases across the four nations of the UK is driven by the UK Rare Diseases Policy Board. The Policy Board is a UK-wide body that supports the development of policies and strategies concerning research and development of new therapies and technologies for the treatment of rare diseases and their potential for patient benefit. The Policy Board also considers how delivery of the UK Strategy for Rare Diseases can be enhanced and improved through the outputs of initiatives from across the broader genomics and rare diseases landscape. NHS England has recently announced an intention to publish an implementation plan setting out its delivery contribution to the UK Strategy for Rare Diseases in 2017/18 as part of the plans for the next steps of the Five Year Forward View. A progress report on the implementation of the UK Strategy for Rare Diseases was published early in 2016 and a further update will be published in early 2018.

Human Papillomavirus: Vaccination

Stuart C. McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many reports of (a) all adverse and (b) serious adverse reactions to (i) Cervarix, (ii) Gardasil and (iii) generic human papilloma virus vaccines the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency has received to date.

Nicola Blackwood: As with all vaccines and medicines, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) closely monitors the safety of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. The MHRA takes advice from the Government's independent expert advisory body, the Commission on Human Medicines (CHM), when evaluating the risks and benefits of medicines and vaccines. A total of 8,835 suspected adverse reaction reports (ADRs) with HPV vaccines have been reported to the MHRA via the Yellow Card Scheme up to 17 April 2017. This follows administration of at least eight million doses of the vaccine since the immunisation programme began in 2008. It is important to note that a Yellow Card report is not proof of a side effect occurring, but a suspicion by the reporter that the vaccine may have been the cause. Whilst Yellow Card reports may represent side effects, they may also relate to coincidental events unrelated to vaccination. The CHM has thoroughly reviewed the data reported in association with HPV vaccines in the United Kingdom and has no concerns about the number or nature of Yellow Card reports received. The CHM considered that the vast majority of suspected side effects reports appeared to be similar in frequency and type to those that had been reported with other vaccines routinely given to adolescents and adults and concluded that the evidence does not support a link between HPV vaccination and chronic illnesses. The possible known side effects, and the frequency, are listed in the product information which is provided with the vaccines. The vast majority of the 8,835 ADRs relate to the known risks of vaccination that are well-described in the available product information. The expected benefits in protecting against HPV-related mortality and disease outweigh the known side effects of HPV vaccine.  Vaccine BrandTotal number of reportsNumber of serious reports (% of total)Cervarix6,3121,812 (29%)Gardasil1,858767 (41%)Gardasil 9106 (60%)HPV Brand unspecified658456 (69%)Total for Human Papilloma virus vaccines8,835*3,038 (34%) Source: MHRA sentinel database for adverse reactions.Note that the total number of reports received will not be equal to the totals in the table above as some reports of suspected adverse reactions may have included more than one vaccine.

Blood: Contamination

Andrea Jenkyns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the evidential basis was for the elimination in the uplift of annual payments in 2018-19 for patients suffering from stage 2 hepatitis C who were contaminated with infected blood.

Nicola Blackwood: The Department’s consultation ‘Infected Blood – Consultation on Special Category Mechanism and financial and other support in England’ set out plans for further support measures for all those affected by the infected blood tragedy. As it set out in the Consultation document, we are proposing to remove a fixed uplift in annual payments from 2018/19 onward for all eligible recipients, in order to ensure that the scheme, overall, remains within the allocated budget while introducing the Special Category Mechanism, which will benefit a significant proportion of stage 1 beneficiaries, offering them annual payments equivalent to those received by beneficiaries with hepatitis C stage 2 disease or those infected with HIV. We believe this is a fair and reasonable distribution of the available funding, and necessary in order to preserve levels of support provided to beneficiaries including through the discretionary fund, which we know is valued by beneficiaries and their families. Further detail on the evidential basis for this specific proposal and others is available in the Impact Assessment that accompanied the Consultation.

Drugs: Research

Stuart C. McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he  is taking to ensure that new drugs developed in part with financial support from government are made available to NHS patients.

Nicola Blackwood: Through its technology appraisal programme, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) provides authoritative, evidence-based guidance for the National Health Service on the clinical and cost effectiveness of new drugs and other treatments. NHS commissioners are legally required to fund drugs and treatments recommended in NICE technology appraisal guidance. The Government wants patients to access cost effective, innovative drugs and technologies quickly at a price that the NHS can afford and to create a more attractive environment for innovators. That is why we commissioned the Accelerated Access Review, which reported in October 2016.

Cancer: Drugs

Stuart C. McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that existing and cost-effective drugs which have been shown to be effective in reducing the risk of recurrence and spread of incurable cancer are repurposed as quickly as possible.

Nicola Blackwood: The Government is working with a range of organisations, including the Association of Medical Research Charities, to ensure that robust evidence showing new uses for existing drugs can be brought more systematically into clinical practice to benefit patients. Significant progress has been made in designing a ‘drug re-purposing pathway’ to help the charities and others to navigate a route through the National Health Service so that they can see how research can be shared at a national level and then picked up locally where it can reach the patient. Work on this is continuing.

Social Services: Finance

Dr Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the forthcoming Green Paper on adult social care funding will look at the needs of everyone who receives adult social care.

Dr Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the needs of working-age users of disabled social care ahead of the publication of the forthcoming Green Paper on adult social care funding.

Dr Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what consultation he has undertaken with organisations operating in the care sector ahead of the publication of the forthcoming Green Paper on adult social care funding.

David Mowat: Following the announcement of the General Election on 8 June, decisions on the future reform and funding of adult social care will be taken by the new Government.

Aortic Dissection

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to improve early diagnosis and treatment of aortic dissection.

David Mowat: NHS England has established 23 urgent and emergency care networks across the four regions of England to ensure that services work together to deliver appropriate care for patients in need of emergency and urgent care, including aortic dissection. Some parts of the country have arranged rotas across hospitals so that specialist surgeons can be involved in the care of patients with aortic dissection. The cardiac clinical reference group of NHS England is considering how this practice can be encouraged elsewhere.

Dental Services

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many units of dental activity were unused in 2015-16.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the total value of unused units of dental activity was in 2015-16.

David Mowat: Data collected by the NHS Business Services Authority shows that in 2015-16 there were 2,688 National Health Service dental contracts which did not deliver all of their contracted units of dental activity (UDA) totalling 4,352,738 UDAs. The total value of this was £120,090,256.

Dental Services: Children

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many children in (a) Batley and Spen constituency, (b) Kirklees, (c) West Yorkshire and (d) England were admitted to hospital for a tooth extraction due to decay in each of the last seven years.

David Mowat: Data is not available in the format requested. Such data as is available is shown in the table below. A count of finished admission episodes (FAEs)1 with a primary diagnosis2 of dental caries3 and a main procedure4 of tooth extraction5, for patients aged between 0 and 17 within Batley and Spen parliamentary constituency6, Kirklees local authority district of residence7, Yorkshire and Humber Government office of residence8 and England from 2009-10 and 2015-16 Activity in English National Health Service Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sectorYearBatley and Spen (FAEs)Kirklees local authority district (FAEs)Yorkshire and Humber (FAEs)England (FAEs)2009-10315856,99236,6822010-11516066,63836,5102011-12326776,68837,4172012-13335866,85337,5692013-14336317,29338,8572014-15546257,43039,9622015-16566606,98637,253Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), NHS DigitalNotes:1. Finished admission episodesA FAE is the first period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FAEs are counted against the year or month in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the period.2. Primary DiagnosisThe primary diagnosis is the first of up to 20 (14 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and seven prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in the HES data set and provides the main reason why the patient was admitted to hospital. 3. Dental cariesICD-10 Clinical coding:K02 - Dental Caries 4. Main ProcedureThe first recorded procedure or intervention in each episode, usually the most resource intensive procedure or intervention performed during the episode. It is appropriate to use main procedure when looking at admission details, (e.g. time waited), but a more complete count of episodes with a particular procedure is obtained by looking at the main and the secondary procedures. 5.Tooth ExtractionOPCS 4.7 - Procedure codeF09.1 - Surgical removal of impacted wisdom toothF09.2 - Surgical removal of impacted tooth NECxF09.3 - Surgical removal of wisdom tooth NECF09.4 - Surgical removal of tooth NECF09.5 - Surgical removal of retained root of toothF09.8 - Other specified surgical removal of toothF09.9 - Unspecified surgical removal of tooth F10.1 - Full dental clearanceF10.2 - Upper dental clearanceF10.3 - Lower dental clearanceF10.4 - Extraction of multiple teeth NECF10.8 - Other specified simple extraction of toothF10.9 - Unspecified simple extraction tooth (Includes, but is not limited to extraction of single tooth) 6. Batley and Spen parliamentary constituency: PCON Code - A19 7. Kirklees local authority area: RESLADST-ONS –E08000034 8. Government Office of Residence. This derived field contains a code that defines the Government Office Region of residence of the patient. It is derived from the patient's postcode in the field homeadd (postcode of patient).

NHS: Standards

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what NHS services are failing to meet NICE guidelines for financial reasons.

Nicola Blackwood: This information is not held centrally.

Mental Health Services: Children

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what specialist mental health support is provided to unaccompanied asylum seeking children in the UK.

Nicola Blackwood: Unaccompanied asylum seeking children are entitled to the same rights as other looked-after children and young people, including access to National Health Service mental health services. Care of unaccompanied and trafficked children - Statutory guidance for local authorities on the care of unaccompanied asylum seeking and trafficked children. July 2014 states that needs-assessment must be made with reference to the child’s specific needs as an unaccompanied or trafficked child, including ascertaining any particular psychological or emotional impact of experiences as an unaccompanied or trafficked child. As for any looked after child, a health plan should be produced as part of their overall care plan, including detail of how these psychological issues will be addressed.

Pharmacy

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether new funding will be made available for NHS England to commission new advanced services under the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework in 2017-18.

David Mowat: The Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework for 2016/17 and 2017/18 was announced in October 2016. This includes a new advanced service, the NHS Urgent Medicine Supply Advanced Service pilot scheme.

NHS: Drugs

Anna Turley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of introduction of QALYS into the appraisal of highly specialised technologies (HST); and if he will take steps to ensure that future HST drugs for ultra-rare diseases are not denied reimbursement.

Nicola Blackwood: The changes to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s Highly Specialised Technologies methods are intended to introduce a fairer, more transparent framework for the evaluation of technologies for very rare diseases that will enable truly transformative new drugs for patients to be made available where companies are willing to set prices that fairly reflect the added benefit they bring.

Cancer: Health Professions

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he or officials of his Department have had with Health Education England on the delivery of the strategic review of the cancer workforce.

David Mowat: The Department has regular conversations with Health Education England on cancer workforce planning, including through the National Cancer Transformation Board. Working with partner organisations on the Board, Health Education England will publish a cancer workforce plan later this year which will set out the future cancer workforce requirements for the National Health Service and what can be done to achieve them.

Cancer

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the publication of Next Steps on the NHS Five Year Forward View, published on 6 April 2017, what plans his Department has to align the work of the (a) sustainability and transformation plans, (b) sustainability and transformation partnerships, (c) cancer alliances and (d) forthcoming accountable care systems in the strategy on and delivery of cancer services.

David Mowat: Sustainability and Transformation Plans, Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships, and the forthcoming Accountable Care Systems are not separate entities. They are part of the same process, each evolving into the next, and are therefore aligned on that basis. In October 2014, NHS England published the ‘Five Year Forward View’, which set out how the National Health Service would adapt to improve cancer care by 2020/21. This led to the creation of Cancer Alliances, which provide a focus for improvement and leadership on cancer care locally. This focus is then incorporated into the wider context of the sustainability and transformation partnerships and plans (STP) for each area, with the intention of developing partnerships and integrating services to improve patient outcomes across their geographical footprint. The recently published ‘Next Steps on the Five Year Forward View’ stipulated that STPs will now begin the process of evolving into accountable care systems, providing better aligned and coordinated care that meets the needs of the local population. The NHS currently has the highest cancer survival rates ever. There are an estimated 7,000 more people surviving cancer annually after successful NHS cancer treatment, compared to when the Five Year Forward View was published. Each of the 44 STP areas, and the organisations that make up each STP, including Cancer Alliances, have contributed to this achievement, and the forthcoming Accountable Care Systems will build on this.

Cancer

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that the creation of accountable care systems from sustainability and transformation plans does not lead to geographical inequalities in the provision of cancer services across England.

David Mowat: The recently published ‘Next Steps on the Five Year Forward View’ stipulated that Sustainability and Transformation Plans will now begin the process of evolving into accountable care systems, providing better aligned and coordinated care that best meets the needs of the local population. Accountable care systems will do this through bringing together National Health Service organisations (both commissioners and providers), often in partnership with local authorities, to take on clear, collective responsibility for resources and population health. This includes encapsulating the work of Cancer Alliances, which provides a focus for improvement and leadership of cancer care locally. They are required to work with any accountable care systems within their geographies to ensure that they deliver an improvement in outcomes for their whole population.The NHS is also rolling out the RightCare and Getting It Right First Time programmes to reduce unwarranted variation and improve outcomes across the NHS.

Strokes

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that patients recovering from stroke have access to specialist stroke recovery services such as those provided by the Stroke Association.

David Mowat: Clinical commissioning groups are responsible for commissioning rehabilitation services, and for ensuring that support for stroke patients is available for patients in their area.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to (a) ensure clear treatment pathways for people with obsessive compulsive disorder and (b) promote informed choices by patients about such treatment.

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps are being taken to ensure that referral and treatment rates for those with obsessive compulsive disorder reflect need.

Nicola Blackwood: Health Education England provides the MindEd e-Learning for free to healthcare professionals that includes a session on obsessive compulsive disorder.Patients who are diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder may be referred to physiological therapy services.We have introduced the first ever access and waiting standards for mental health services. In December 2016, 89.4% of people who needed access to talking therapies were seen within six weeks (target 75%). And 98.5% were seen within 18 weeks (target 95%).

Bladder Cancer

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect on the quality of life of patients of each of the existing treatment options for bladder cancer; and what assessment has been made of the adequacy of support services available to such patients.

David Mowat: There is currently limited information available on the long-term quality of life of patients treated for any cancer. Improving the information available was identified as a priority by the independent Cancer Taskforce in their report Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes published in July 2015. In partnership with Macmillan Cancer Support, NHS England is developing a new approach to data collection on Quality of Life that will inform a new Quality of Life metric. The approach will be piloted in 2017/18. In December 2016, NHS England announced a fund of over £200 million available to Cancer Alliances over the next two years, specifically to support those areas of the Cancer Taskforce strategy that they estimated would need significant investment. This includes implementation of the Recovery Package so that patients have personalised care and support from the point they are diagnosed to improve their quality of life.

Hepatitis: Vaccination

Sir David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has to ensure that people who test negative for hepatitis B but possess risk factors are offered a vaccination for that virus.

Sir David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department plans to ensure that everyone who tests negative for hepatitis B but possesses risk factors are offered a vaccination for that virus.

Nicola Blackwood: The United Kingdom has a selective immunisation policy for hepatitis B which targets people at risk of hepatitis B. Recommendations for vaccination are outlined in Chapter 18 of the Green Book: Immmunisation against Infectious Disease, available to view here:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immunisation-against-infectious-disease-the-green-book

Hepatitis: Vaccination

Sir David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has to introduce a universal vaccination for hepatitis B.

Sir David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the decision in late 2015 to use, and the procurement in 2016 of, a paediatric hexavalent vaccine that includes hepatitis B, what plans his Department has to introduce a universal vaccination for hepatitis B in the UK.

Nicola Blackwood: The routine childhood vaccination programme in England includes the existing five in one (pentavalent) vaccine which protects against five diseases - diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, and haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib). From autumn 2017 this will be replaced by a six in one (hexavalent) vaccine which also protects against hepatitis B.

Nurses: Training

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment the Government has made of the potential effect on the level of mature student applications of NHS bursaries being replaced with student loans.

Mr Philip Dunne: A preliminary Equality Analysis was published alongside the public consultation document on 7 April 2016. The Government published a consultation response and revised Equality Analysis on 21 July 2016. These documents provide the assessment of the potential effect of the replacement of National Health Service bursaries by student loans for all the protected characteristics of the Public Sector Equality Duty (Section 149 of the Equality Act 2010). The Equality Analysis can be found on the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/539777/health-ed-ea.pdf

Bladder Cancer

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to accelerate the diagnosis of people with bladder cancer.

David Mowat: In December 2016, NHS England announced that over £200 million will be made available to Cancer Alliances over the next two years to support earlier and faster diagnosis alongside measures to support people living with and beyond cancer. The Faster Diagnosis Standard to be rolled out across England by 2020, will ensure that every patient referred for an investigation with a suspicion of cancer is diagnosed or has cancer ruled out within 28 days. The Faster Diagnosis Standard aims to create a more patient-centred access standard for cancer, focussing Waiting Times measurements on what is most important to the patient. Public Health England’s Be Clear on Cancer ‘Blood in Pee’ campaign aims to raise public awareness of visible haematuria (blood in the urine) as a possible early symptom of bladder and kidney cancer and encourages individuals with those symptoms to go to the doctor as soon as possible. The campaigns used a variety of media to reach a wide audience and the messages were also targeted through the Health and Safety Executive networks to reach those people who having worked with certain occupational chemicals could be at a higher risk of bladder cancer. A broader campaign approach has been developed to raise awareness of a range of abdominal symptoms that can indicate a wider number of cancers, including bladder, and also encouraged people to visit the doctor promptly with these symptoms. This regional pilot ran from 9 February until 31 March 2017 in the East and West Midlands. The UK National Screening Committee last reviewed the evidence for bladder cancer in 2015 and concluded that screening should not be offered as a population screening programme because the test marker, urine dip stick, is not reliable. This would lead to large numbers of people being falsely identified as having cancer when they do not and exposing many people to unnecessary tests and procedures. The next review is scheduled in three years, 2018/19, or earlier in light of any new significant published evidence.

Bladder Cancer

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to reduce geographic variation in mortality rates for bladder cancer.

David Mowat: Cancer Alliances are a vehicle for bringing together senior clinical and managerial leaders to plan for and lead the delivery of the transformation required to implement the Cancer Taskforce strategy locally, taking a whole-pathway and cross-organisational approach. Alliances will help to reduce variation in outcomes and in access to high-quality, evidence-based interventions across whole pathways of care and for the Alliance’s whole population.

European Medicines Agency

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations he has made to his EU counterparts on the presence of the European Medicines Agency in the UK after the UK leaves the EU.

David Mowat: The European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) future location is not an issue that falls within the United Kingdom’s own competence but will be decided by the 27 remaining European Union member states. The Government is fully assessing how the UK’s decision to leave the European Union will impact on medicines regulation in the UK, including the potential relocation of the EMA. Whatever the future relationship between the UK and EMA, the Government will work to ensure that patient access to medicines will not be adversely impacted.

European Medicines Agency

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations he has made to his EU counterparts on the UK remaining a member of the European Medicines Agency after the UK leaves the EU.

David Mowat: The Government is fully assessing how the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union will impact on medicines regulation in the UK. This includes the UK’s future membership with the European Medicines Agency which will be considered in upcoming negotiations between the UK and EU.

Coeliac Disease: Prescriptions

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment (a) his Department and (b) NHS England has made of the potential financial effect on people of ending access to gluten-free prescriptions.

Nicola Blackwood: The Department has undertaken a first stage impact assessment that evaluates the cost and health impacts of all three options that are contained in the published Gluten Free consultation. The impact assessment will be developed further once the consultation outcomes have been analysed. More information can be found by following this link:https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/availability-of-gluten-free-foods-on-nhs-prescription

Medical Treatments: Finance

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what deadline NHS England has set for consideration of new proposals for investment in specialised treatments through its 2018-19 annual prioritisation process.

David Mowat: The next annual prioritisation round for investment in specialised treatments covering 2018-19 will be held in November 2017. Any proposals and supporting documentation will need to be prepared for the beginning of October.

Medical Treatments: Finance

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, for what reasons NHS England did not consider any commissioning policies that were not included in its 2016-17 annual prioritisation process as part of its 2017-18 annual commissioning prioritisation process.

David Mowat: In line with its previous commitments to do so, NHS England has taken the opportunity to review items considered unaffordable during the 2016/17 prioritisation round, as well as all known in-year service developments, in determining its funding for 2017/18. To capture any new developments, NHS England is intending to run a full prioritisation round twice a year in the future.

Medical Treatments: Finance

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, for what reasons NHS England published the priority levels for commissioning policies considered through its annual prioritisation process in July 2016 but did not publish priority levels for the treatments re-reviewed in December 2016.

David Mowat: In considering policies placed before it, NHS England’s Clinical Priorities Advisory Group followed their published procedure, which was subject to recent public consultation. Proposals with the greatest clinical benefit and lowest cost attracted the highest priority recommendation (level 1), while those with lowest clinical benefit and high cost attracted the lowest (level 5). Treatments in level five were considered not currently affordable and were not recommended for routine commissioning. When re-reviewing the treatments, NHS England announced which treatments were considered affordable, and not affordable, in line with the July prioritisation.

Wakefield Clinical Commissioning Group: Hospital Beds

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many patients under the care of Wakefield Clinical Commissioning Group waiting to be discharged from hospital are classified as having been bed-blocking for longer than (a) one week, (b) two weeks, (c) three weeks and (d) four weeks.

David Mowat: This information is not held centrally.

Drugs: Licensing

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect on the speed of patients' access to drugs and treatments compared to other OECD countries of NICE and NHS England's proposed changes to the arrangements for evaluating and funding drugs and other health technologies appraised through NICE's technology appraisal and highly specialised technologies programme.

Nicola Blackwood: No such assessment has been made. The changes introduced by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and NHS England are intended to ensure rapid access to the most effective treatments while addressing issues raised around affordability. As part of the changes, NICE has introduced a fast track appraisal process for very cost effective treatments that will accelerate patient access to eligible treatments by around five months. Patients will continue to have a right in the NHS Constitution to drugs and treatments recommended by NICE.

Drugs: Licensing

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he has had discussions with the (a) Office for Life Sciences and (b) Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on the effect of NICE and NHS England's changes to the arrangements for evaluating and funding drugs and other health technologies appraised through NICE's technology appraisal and highly specialised technologies programme on the objectives of the Government's Life Sciences Strategy.

Nicola Blackwood: My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health has regular discussions with Ministerial colleagues and the Office for Life Sciences on policy matters relating to the life sciences industry.

Drugs: Licensing

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of NICE and NHS England's proposed changes to the arrangements for evaluating and funding drugs and other health technologies appraised through NICE's technology appraisal and highly specialised technologies programme on NICE's forecasted Technology Appraisal publication timeframes.

Nicola Blackwood: Wherever possible, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) will continue to aim to publish draft guidance on new drugs and significant license extensions for existing drugs appraised within six months of the product receiving its marketing authorisation in the United Kingdom. The fast track technology appraisal process will reduce the timeframe for development of technology appraisal guidance on eligible drugs by around three months and NHS England will fund drugs recommended through the fast track process one month after publication, bringing forward patient access by around five months.

Drugs: Licensing

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what evaluation metrics his Department has put in place to assess the potential effect of NICE and NHS England's proposed changes to the arrangements for evaluating and funding drugs and other health technologies appraised through NICE's technology appraisal and highly specialised technologies programme; and what plans he has to evaluate the effect of those changes 12 months after their implementation.

Nicola Blackwood: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and NHS England have committed to review the impact of the changes to the arrangements for the assessment and adoption of new treatments three years after their implementation. The Innovation Scorecard introduced in 2013 tracks uptake of selected drugs and other treatments recommended by NICE.

NHS England

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what oversight and accountability mechanisms his Department will have over NHS England's Strategic Commercial Unit.

Nicola Blackwood: NHS England is an Executive Non-Departmental Public Body. It is accountable to Government via the annual mandate and the Department holds quarterly accountability meetings with NHS England.

Mental Health Services: Prisoners

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he plans to reform mental health services for (a) prisoners and (b) those recently released from prison.

Nicola Blackwood: There are commitments in NHS England’s “Next Steps for the Five Year Forward View” and the Strategic Direction for Health and Justice 2016-20 to “support the development of mental health, substance misuse and earlier crisis care for children, young people and adults in the criminal justice system” as well as “developing a new mental health specification in the adult secure and detained estate in 2017”. To support these commitments, work is ongoing to design and test an optimum mental health service model for the prison estate. Work is also being led by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and the National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health on behalf of NHS England, to develop a set of quality benchmarks for community mental health services. This is due for publication in 2018 and will comprise recommended standards for the provision of treatment and support along the journey from referral to recovery, for anyone in receipt of community based mental health services, including those who have been released from prison.

Dental Services: Birmingham

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 21 March 2017 to Question 909377, on dental services: Birmingham, when NHS England plans to start the scheme referred to; and how that scheme will prevent poor oral health in children.

David Mowat: NHS England has advised that it has not yet set a date for a roll out of this scheme across the West Midlands area. The timetable for roll out will be discussed by NHS England West Midlands Local Office with their Local Dental Network in July. This will also cover scope of the scheme. A prior pilot scheme in Herefordshire focussed on educating dentists about best practice in addressing high dental needs in young children.

Dental Services: Children

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 15 March 2017 to Question 66939, on dental services: children, if he will provide the information in that Answer disaggregated for primary and secondary NHS dentistry care.

David Mowat: The information provided in answer to Question 66939 on patients seen by National Health Service dentists relates to primary care only so cannot be disaggregated into primary and secondary care. ’Patients seen’ counts the number of unique patients who received one or more NHS courses of treatment within primary care by a dentist in a specified period. This information cannot be provided for secondary care. Secondary care data, for dental and other specialties, does not routinely report on the unique patients seen but rather the number of admissions or treatments delivered within the secondary care setting.

Food: Safety

Calum Kerr: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the cost of establishing a new regulatory framework for food safety after the UK leaves the EU.

David Mowat: Departments are currently working to understand the impacts that withdrawal from the European Union will have across a number of areas, including understanding any cost implications for the regulatory framework. Options for the future post-exit regulatory framework are being developed that will not compromise the consumer protection or increase burdens on businesses.

NHS Trusts: Apprentices

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many NHS Trusts are required to pay the apprenticeship levy; how much in total NHS Trusts will pay; in which areas of employment NHS Trusts will create apprenticeships in the next two years; and how many apprenticeships NHS Trusts will create.

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is required to pay the apprenticeship levy; and how many apprenticeships that trust plans to create.

Mr Philip Dunne: The new Apprenticeship Levy came into operation in April 2017 for employers with a with a pay bill over £3 million each year and is set at 0.5% of pay bill. All National Health Service trusts will come within scope for paying the apprentice levy, with an estimated total NHS levy contribution of up to £200 million in 2017/18.Doncaster and Bassetlaw will come within scope to pay the apprentice levy.NHS trusts can employ apprentices in a range of clinical and non-clinical roles in the next two years including nursing, healthcare science, dental nursing, healthcare support worker, ambulance practitioner accountancy, business administration, digital and technology roles.New apprenticeship roles are in development across a range of regulated healthcare professions including, the new Nursing Associate role, Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Paramedic and Social Worker.The new Public Sector Apprentice Target applies to public sector bodies with 250 or more staff in England and requires a minimum of 2.3% new apprentice starts each year based on the headcount of employees. The total NHS apprentice target is estimated as 27,500 in 2017/18.Latest information from NHS Digital indicates that Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust directly employs 6,497 headcount people. The Department estimates Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals would need to employ 149 apprentices in 2017/18 to meet the Public Sector Apprentice Target.

Community Health Services: Liverpool

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 18 April 2017 to Question 70182, on Community Health Services: Liverpool, for what reasons (a) Merseycare spent around £313,000 and (b) Bridgewater spent around £550,000 on bids for the Liverpool Community Health contract; for what reasons those figures were not disclosed earlier; what assessment he has made of the integrity of the bidding process in which the successful bid was made outside the process at zero cost; and whether the bidding process represents the best value for money for Liverpool residents.

Mr Philip Dunne: The bidding, legal and due diligence costs incurred by Merseycare and Bridgewater were not previously available as the two trusts were in the process of finalising their accounts. The figures provided relate to both the Liverpool and Sefton service bundles and Merseycare was successful in being appointed preferred bidder for Sefton. The bidding process for the Liverpool Community Health contract was detailed in my earlier response on 5 April to Question 69437. No successful bid for the Liverpool Community Health contract has been made outside of this process. Rather, an arrangement has been agreed with the three acute trusts (Alder Hey, Royal Liverpool and Aintree) for a short term management contract led by Alder Hey. This is not a bid for acquisition and therefore due diligence that would be required under an acquisition and which would incur cost was not necessary. Liverpool Community remains a separate statutory organisation.

Community Health Services: Liverpool

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what sponsorship (a) arrangements and (b) events Liverpool Clinical Commissioning Group has participated in since its inception; what costs were incurred in each arrangement; what assessment he has made of the benefits to the health of Liverpool residents of such arrangements; and if he will make a statement.

David Mowat: This information is not held centrally.

Liverpool Clinical Commissioning Group: Audit

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what queries have been raised by the auditors of Liverpool Clinical Commissioning Group in each year since its inception; what steps were taken in response to each such query; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the auditors of Liverpool Clinical Commissioning Group have raised queries of its accounts in any year since the inception of that organisation.

Mr Philip Dunne: We are informed by NHS England that NHS Liverpool Clinical Commissioning Group has received an unqualified audit opinion for each year since its inception. The audit covers a regularity opinion, findings regarding controls, value for money review and any other issues that require auditors to apply statutory powers and duties. This audit findings for each year are available to the public on its website:www.liverpoolccg.nhs.uk/

Liverpool Clinical Commissioning Group: Secondment

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will place in the Library a copy of the job vacancy notice which was issued by Liverpool Clinical Commissioning Group for a senior administrator to work on secondment to the Liverpool GP Provider organisation; who approved the secondment arrangements for that senior administrator; and if he will make a statement.

David Mowat: The advert for the post of senior administrator from NHS Liverpool Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) is attached. This post was approved by the Primary Care Commissioning Committee of the CCG’s governing body at its meeting held in public in August 2015. This was not a secondment but a CCG employed fixed term post for 12 months.



PQ71161 attached document
(PDF Document, 111.19 KB)

NHS Shared Business Services

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much was paid in profit to (a) his Department and (b) Sopra Steria in each of the last three years from NHS Shared Business Services.

David Mowat: NHS Shared Business Services (NHS SBS) is a joint venture between the Secretary of State for Health and the outsourcing company, Sopra Steria, which specialises in providing efficient “back office” functions for National Health Service bodies. NHS SBS is profitable, but has yet to pay a dividend to either owner, instead retaining cash to invest in developing the business.

NHS: Finance

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the amount of deficit in NHS trusts and foundation trusts in (a) 2016-17 and (b) 2017-18.

Mr Philip Dunne: This Government has set very clear expectations in the mandate to the National Health Service that financial balance must be achieved and this is supported by our commitment to increase funding by £10 billion per year by the end of this Parliament. To deliver financial balance, the NHS leadership bodies have set out their own plan for delivering financial sustainability for the NHS, in the Five Year Forward View (October 2014) and Strengthening Financial Performance and Accountability document (July 2016). On a quarterly basis, NHS Improvement publishes the latest performance against these plans. The latest position for 2016-17 is available in NHS Improvement’s “Quarterly Performance of the Provider Sector as at 31 December 2016” report, which is available on their website via the link below:https://improvement.nhs.uk/resources/quarterly-performance-nhs-provider-sector-quarter-3-1617/ Our expectation remains that overall financial balance will be achieved in 2017-18, with detailed organisational level plans still being worked through. Performance against these plans will again be published on a quarterly basis.

Prostate Cancer

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he has taken to raise awareness among men about prostate cancer since the 2014 pilot programme run by Public Health England.

David Mowat: Public Health England’s (PHE’s) be Clear on Cancer ‘Prostate Cancer’ pilot has been passed to Prostate Cancer UK to take forward, with PHE supporting with any future activity. In addition, the Be Clear on Cancer ‘Blood in Pee’ campaign aims to raise awareness of visible haematuria (blood in the urine) as a possible symptom of bladder and kidney cancer as well as prostate cancer. The campaign ran nationally from 15 February – 31 March 2016, following the successful local and regional pilots. The campaign targeted men and women above 50 years old using a wide range of media, including national television and radio advertising.

NHS: Expenditure

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to page 53 of Next Steps on the Five Year Forward View, published in March 2017, to which organisations and geographies the statement that some organisations and geographies have historically been substantially overspending their fair share of NHS funding refers.

Mr Philip Dunne: The National Health Service as a whole faces financial challenges, and there are specific health economies where those challenges are more acute as evidenced by the financial performance of individual commissioner and provider organisations. The Government mandates NHS England to ensure financial balance across the NHS. The NHS cannot spend more than what it is allocated by Parliament. In January 2016 NHS England published details of funding allocations for each clinical commissioning group (CCG) area. As a result of NHS England’s allocation decisions, no CCG area is now more than 5% under its target (“fair share”) allocation. However, NHS England acknowledged in its delivery plan ‘Five Year Forward View: Next Steps’ that more will need to be done around the financial challenges facing the NHS. The document sets out a 10 point care and efficiency programme to meet the joint challenges of maintaining financial stability while delivering the best health service in the world.

General Practitioners: Standards

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average waiting time was for a GP appointment in (a) Bristol East, (b) Bristol and (c) the UK in each of the last five years.

David Mowat: Information on the average waiting time for general practitioner (GP) appointments at local and national level is not collected or held centrally. The GP Patient Survey, published by NHS England, asks respondents how long it took for them to see a GP or a nurse after contacting their practice. The full set of survey releases can be found here:https://gp-patient.co.uk/surveys-and-reports The Government is committed to improving access to general practice. By 2020, everyone will have access to routine evening and weekend appointments. In Bristol there are a number of initiatives in place to increase GP access. For example, network practices, such as One Care Consortium, are currently offering extra pre-bookable GP appointments on weekends and bank holidays.

Hospitals: Bristol

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average waiting time was for hospital referrals in Bristol in each of the last five years; and how many and what proportion of patients in Bristol waited longer than 18 weeks for surgery in each of the last five years.

Mr Philip Dunne: The information is shown in the following table. Average waiting time, number and percentage of patients who had been waiting longer than 18 weeks for treatment (not all treatment will include surgery) in April in each of the last five years (where data is available), NHS Bristol Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG)MonthAverage (median) waiting time (weeks)Numbers of patients waiting over 18 weeksPercentage of patients waiting over 18 weeksApril-2012N/AN/AN/AApril-20136.71,6356.1%April-20146.82,3618.0%April-20156.82,61310.2%April-20167.12,7109.2%Source: Consultant-led referral to treatment waiting times, NHS EnglandNotes: CCGs were created following the Health and Social Care Act in 2012, and were formed on 1 April 2013.

Accident and Emergency Departments: Standards

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of accident and emergency patients were treated within four hours in (a) North Bristol Trust, (b) University Hospitals Bristol Trust and (c) the UK in each of the last five years.

Mr Philip Dunne: The proportion of accident and emergency patients who were admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours of arrival in North Bristol NHS Trust, University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust, and England, is shown in the table below. Data relating to Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are not held centrally.  North Bristol NHS TrustUniversity Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation TrustEngland2011-1294.6%95.9%96.6%2012-1392.1%93.8%95.9%2013-1492.5%93.7%95.7%2014-1585.0%92.2%93.6%2015-1684.9%90.4%91.9% Source: NHS England, accident and emergency Attendance and Emergency Admissions

Department of Health: North Herefordshire

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much his Department has spent in North Herefordshire constituency since 2015.

Mr Philip Dunne: The Department does not budget or monitor spending by Parliamentary constituency. The majority of Department spending is allocated through clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) who are responsible for the efficient and effective allocation of resources in their local health economies. The relevant CCG for North Herefordshire is Herefordshire CCG, whose published accounts show that comprehensive expenditure was £219.347 million, in 2014/15 and £228.51 million in 2015/16.

Bury Clinical Commissioning Group: Finance

Mr David Nuttall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what funding has been provided to Bury Clinical Commissioning Group in each year since it was established.

Mr Philip Dunne: The below table sets out the funding allocations for core clinical commissioning group (CCG) services received by NHS Bury CCG since it was established in 2013. 2013/14 – 2016/17 Allocations – NHS Bury CCGNHS Bury CCGCCG Core AllocationsPrimary Medical Care AllocationsSpecialised Services AllocationsFinal Place Based Allocations (Equals sum of CCG Core + Primary Medical Care + Specialised Services)(£000s)(£000s)(£000s)(£000s)2013/14208,390   2014/15216,686   2015/16237,308   2016/17246,19925,52461,119332,842 Notes:The figures for 2013/14, 2014/15 and 2015/16 are the adjusted month 6 baseline figures. From 2016/17 onwards, allocations to CCGs cover core CCG services, primary medical care and specialised services.

Surgery: Greater London

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many non-urgent operations have been cancelled in hospitals in the London Borough of Southwark in each of the last seven years.

Mr Philip Dunne: NHS England collects the number of elective operations cancelled at the ‘last minute’ for non-clinical reasons on a quarterly basis. It does not collect the total number of cancelled operations, a breakdown of the type of operations that have been cancelled, or the specific reason for the cancellation. On occasion, urgent care demands mean that non-urgent operations may need to be postponed to make sure that people most in need of hospital care receive it. The majority of non–urgent operations that are cancelled are re-booked within 28 days. The information is shown in the following table. Number of last minute elective operations cancelled in trusts serving the London Borough of Southwark (and surrounds) in each of the last seven years for non-clinical reasons Number of last minute elective operations cancelled for non-clinical reasons in the last seven yearsTrust name2009/102010/112011/122012/132013/142014/152015/16King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust1872493165871,2161,4331,160Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust459432377464551670848 Source: Cancelled Elective Operations, NHS England Note: The main acute trusts that serve Southwark are King’s College NHS Foundation Trust and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. The number of cancelled operations has reduced in recent years at King College Hospital, with cancelled operations as a percentage of elective admissions reducing from 1.45 % in Quarter 3 2014/15, to 0.86% in Quarter 3 2016/17 and has been maintained under 1% at Guys and St Thomas’, with 0.7% reported in Quarter 3, 2017/18.

NHS: Pay

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of NHS pay levels and rates of pay increase on staff (a) retention and (b) morale.

Mr Philip Dunne: Successive Governments have relied on the independent Pay Review Bodies; the NHS Pay Review Body and the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration to make recommendations on the level of pay for National Health Service staff. The Review Bodies consider written and oral evidence about the recruitment, retention and motivation of NHS staff, put to them by Government, NHS employers, NHS Trade Unions and other stakeholders. Based on that evidence the Review Bodies prepare reports for government which make recommendations on the level of pay award that will enable the NHS to continue to recruit, retain and motivate the staff it needs. The reports consider carefully a range of issues including affordability of the workforce and the prevailing public sector pay policy. On the 28 March this year the Government accepted the Pay Review Bodies’ recommendations for a 1% pay increase for all NHS staff for 2017/18, that will be in addition to incremental pay for those staff that are eligible. Staff satisfaction with pay remains unchanged since 2015. The staff engagement score recorded by the NHS staff survey has reached an all time high of 3.79/5 since it was first recorded in 2012. The Department is taking action to increase the supply of trained staff available to work in the NHS and wider health and care system. Since 2010 there are over 11,200 more doctors and over 12,100 more nurses on our wards.

Dental Services: Registration

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average time for an application to the National Dental Performers List to be processed has been in each of the last five years.

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Capita's handling of application processing for the National Dental Performers List.

David Mowat: NHS England does not hold information on the average turnaround time for processing applications to join the National Dental Performers List. There is an expectation that applications should take 12 weeks to process but for some applications it can take longer. NHS England holds the contract with Capita for the administration of Primary Care Support Services, including the National Dental Performers List. The Performers List process checks that applicants have the correct evidence to ensure that safeguards are in place.Service standards set in the Capita contract are a matter for NHS England as the contract holder. NHS England advises that the contract contains a range of remedies to incentivise and address performance. These include the application of financial service credits where agreed levels of performance are not achieved and rectification processes to affect improvement in service performance where this falls below expected levels.NHS England has been closely monitoring and supporting Capita’s handling of applications for the National Dental Performers List both through weekly service reviews and through an NHS England Intensive Support Team who are working directly alongside Capita. The performance over the last year has not met the standards for which NHS England holds Capita accountable. As such, these actions will continue while the recovery plan for this service is fully delivered.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Minimum Wage: Enforcement

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the budget is for HM Revenue and Customs national minimum wage enforcement for 2016-17.

Margot James: HM Revenue and Customs have a budget of £20 million to enforce the National Minimum Wage for 2016/17, up from £13m in 2015/16.In the 2016 Autumn Statement my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a £4.3m increase, further to the £1 million already planned, bringing the enforcement budget to £25.3 million for 2017/18.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Data Protection

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many (a) official and (b) official sensitive documents have been recorded as lost by his Department since 8 May 2015.

Margot James: The Department of Business Energy and Industrial Strategy was formed in July 2016 and its Annual Report to Parliament will include all relevant losses since its formation. Currently, there are no losses to be reported. Any losses will be assessed and responded to individually and on a case by case basis with all possible mitigating actions being taken and in full compliance of our legal and other responsibilities.

Tidal Power: Swansea Bay

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether a review has been carried out of the environmental impact assessment of the Swansea Bay tidal lagoon; and if he will make a statement.

Jesse Norman: In taking the decision to grant development consent for the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon in June 2015, my right hon. Friend the then Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change considered and reviewed the environmental impact assessment for the project. The Secretary of State's consideration was informed by the Planning Inspectorate`s Report on the application for development consent and other relevant information, including environmental information provided by the developer and other parties.

Research: Israel

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what funding his Department allocates to the Britain Israel Research and Academic Exchange Partnership.

Joseph Johnson: The Britain Israel Research and Academic Exchange Partnership (BIRAX) is a £10 million initiative supported by the UK Government in Israel. The latest initiative provides research to develop cures for some of the world’s most dreadful diseases.Funding is provided from both nations by medical research foundations, charitable trusts, and philanthropists.

Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the net cost to the public purse was of the (a) domestic and (b) non-domestic consumer Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme in Great Britain in each year since 2012; and what the budget is for subsidy payments to existing and future participants in those schemes in each year between 2007 and 2012; what assessment he has made of the need for a cap on the RHI schemes' overall expenditure; and if he will undertake a review of the (i) efficacy of such schemes and (b) costs of importing wood pellets.

Jesse Norman: (1) The budget and net cost of the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) schemes in Great Britain are set out below. The Non-domestic RHI started in November 2011 and the Domestic RHI was launched in April 2014. 2011/122012/132013/142014/152015/162016/17Budget*£56m£70m£251m£424m£430m£640mSubsidy cost  Non-domestic£1m£16m£54m£149m£298m£459mDomestic---£23m£77m£91mProgramme cost**  Non-domestic£5m£5m£7m£8m£7m£6mDomestic--£5m£7m£5m£4mTotal cost£6m£21m£66m£187m£387m£560mData to end-Feb 2017. All figures rounded to nearest £1m.* Budget is for subsidy payments only**Programme costs include scheme development and administration costs(2) A budget cap was introduced to the RHI in Spring 2016, so the schemes can be closed to new applicants if the annual budgets are at risk of being exceeded.(3) The RHI schemes are evaluated regularly. The results of previous evaluations are available here:-www.gov.uk/government/collections/renewable-heat-incentive-evaluation(4) The government reviews the cost of wood pellets as part of periodic reviews of RHI tariffs. This was last done in 2016 as part of the RHI reforms which will be implemented this year. The share of imported wood pellets used by RHI participants is not known.

Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the budget of the Employment Agencies Inspectorate was for 2016-17.

Margot James: The budget for the Employment Agency Standards inspectorate was £0.5m for 2016-17.

Direct Selling

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if his Department will take steps to encourage local communities to set up no cold calling zones.

Margot James: The Government is aware that doorstep selling can be regarded as a nuisance but it is a legitimate form of trading, provided all the legislation regulating the practice is observed.The Government has no plans to regulate further in this area; the unfair trading or criminal activities of rogue traders are already subject to consumer protection and other criminal statues, and the enforcement authorities have adequate powers to see that the law is applied where there is evidence of wrong-doing.The need or case for setting up No Cold Calling Zones is a local matter.

Coal Fired Power Stations: Carbon Emissions

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the potential reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of replacing all coal plants which are over 25-years old with modern super-critical coal plants.

Jesse Norman: The Government has made no assessment of the potential impact of super-critical coal plants on carbon dioxide emissions.

Sellafield

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will publish the total lifetime cost of the Sellafield nuclear waste plant in Cumbria.

Jesse Norman: The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority publishes the amount spent on decommissioning Sellafield in its Annual Report and Accounts. It also publishes a more detailed figure on the cost of decommissioning the UK’s nuclear sites in the Nuclear Provision section of its website. The total estimated cost for decommissioning the Sellafield site is £88 billion on an undiscounted basis.

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority: Contracts

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many management contracts placed by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority have been cancelled early in each of the last five years.

Jesse Norman: Two management contracts have been terminated early by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) in the last five years. These are the Parent Body Agreement with Nuclear Management Partners and the Management and Operation Contract with Sellafield Limited. These cancellations formed part of the process of turning Sellafield Limited into a subsidiary of the NDA which came into effect on 1 April 2016. On 27 March 2017, my Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy announced in Parliament that the NDA intends to terminate the Parent Body Agreement with Cavendish Fluor Partnership for the management of Magnox sites.

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority: Contracts

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions (a) his Department or (b) the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority had with Energy Solutions and Bechtel on any proposals that the voiding of the Magnox decommissioning contract agreed with the Cavendish Fluor partnership should be a part of the arrangement to provide settlement payments to both companies.

Jesse Norman: The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority’s (NDA’s) decision to terminate the contract with Cavendish Fluor Partnership, subsequently ratified by my Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, was due to the significant mismatch between the work that was specified in the contract as tendered in 2012 and the work actually required. The decision to terminate was entirely separate and independent from the NDA’s decision to settle with Energy Solutions and Bechtel, and was handled as such. This separation was made clear in my Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State’s remarks to the House on 27 March 2017.

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority: Contracts

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what provisions were made for the termination of the Magnox decommissioning contract issued in 2012 to the Cavendish Fluor Partnership by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority in the event that there proved to be a significant mismatch between the work that was tendered for and the actual scale of the work that was to be carried out.

Jesse Norman: The contract contains ‘termination for convenience’ provisions that could be exercised unilaterally by the NDA in circumstances where they wished to bring the contract to an end.

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority: Contracts

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions his Department has had with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority on the point at which the discovered mismatch between the work that was tendered for and the work that is required to be carried out in the Magnox decommissioning contract became significant and warranted the termination of that contract.

Jesse Norman: In line with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) Framework Document, my Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy holds regular meetings with the NDA covering the breadth of its decommissioning work. The decision to terminate the contract with Cavendish Fluor Partnership was made by the NDA Board on 20 March 2017 and received ratification of the Accounting Officer, the Secretary of State and the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 26 March 2017.

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority: Contracts

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will publish any quantification by the Nuclear Decommissioning Agency of the (a) work that was tendered for and (b) scale of the work that is to be carried out in the contract for decommissioning Magnox reactors.

Jesse Norman: The procurement notices published in 2012 stated that the full contract was worth £4.2 billion for Phase 1 and £1.9 billion for Phase 2, making a total of £6.1 billion. No decisions have yet been taken in relation to future decommissioning work.

Energy Intensive Industries: Carbon Capture and Storage

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the efficacy of carbon capture and utilisation technologies in providing carbon capture support for energy intensive industries.

Jesse Norman: The Government recognises the potential of carbon capture and utilisation’ technologies, including for energy intensive industries, although many are at any early stage of development. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has commissioned further analysis that will be reporting back mid-year to help assess the commercially exploitable technologies and the associated carbon abatement opportunities for the UK.

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority: Redundancy Pay

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the previous Chair and Chief Executive of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority were given a severance payment upon the termination of their contract of employment.

Jesse Norman: The contracts of the previous Chair and Chief Executive of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority were not terminated early and no severance payments were made.

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority: Contracts

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Written Statement of 27 March 2017, HCWS 554, when the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority became aware that there was a significant mismatch between the work that was specified in the contract as tendered in 2012 and awarded in 2014 and the work that actually needs to be done.

Jesse Norman: This was a complex contract, and there was a standard process to compare the bid assumptions with the actual and detailed scope of the work that needed to be delivered. The decision to terminate the contract with Cavendish Fluor Partnership was made by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority Board on 20 March 2017 and received ratification from the Accounting Officer, my Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 26 March 2017.

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority: Contracts

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government took after judgment, Energysolutions EU Ltd v Nuclear Decommissioning Authority [2016] EWHC 1988 (TCC), was handed down in 2016 to investigate the problems highlighted by the Court.

Jesse Norman: Following the 29 July 2016 High Court judgement, the government increased its scrutiny of large and high-risk NDA projects, drawing on the expertise of the Infrastructure and Projects Authority in particular. In parallel, and following discussions with government, the NDA also introduced a new ‘Projects Committee’ within their internal governance, increasing the Board’s oversight and assurance of important programmes.

Retail Trade: Crime

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what representations he has made to the (a) Secretary of State for Justice and (b) Home Secretary on the level of retail crime during 2016.

Margot James: I regularly meet with Ministerial colleagues to discuss a wide range of issues affecting the retail sector. The Department also works closely with the Home Office’s National Retail Crime Steering Group.

Natural Gas

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has for further reforms to the Capacity Market as a result of the revision of new gas generation capacity in his Department's 2016 Energy and Emissions Projections report.

Jesse Norman: We have no plans at present to reform the Capacity Market in response to the report. The Capacity Market is tried and tested and is the most cost effective way of ensuring we have the electricity we need now and in the future. We are confident that it is providing the right investment incentives for a mix of capacity in the UK.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Secondment

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many staff are seconded to his Department; and how many such staff are seconded from which companies and organisations.

Margot James: There are currently 40 staff seconded to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). The table below shows the organisations that secondees are from and the number of secondees from each organisation: OrganisationNo.OrganisationNo.OrganisationNo.National Grid2Irish Government1New Economy Manchester1Brighton & Hove City Council1NHS Trust Development Authority1Royal Society1City & County of Swansea1Imperial College London1National Physical Laboratory1University of Liverpool1Innovate UK1Oxford University1BMWi - Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, Germany1British Business Bank1West Yorkshire combined Authority1QAA (Quality assurance agency for higher education)3UK Petroleum Industry Association Ltd1Southend on Sea Borough Council1Research Councils UK2City of Bradford MDC1Science & Technology Facilities Council1Chartered trading standards institute1Jisc2UK Atomic Energy Authority1University of Sheffield1Financial Conduct Authority1Natural Environment Research Council1Jacobs1Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council1The Financial Reporting Council Ltd1HEFCE (Higher Education Funding Council for England)1Environment Agency1British Standards Institute1Shell1Deloittes1

Parental Leave

Mr Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what comparative assessment he has made of the uptake of shared parental leave and maternity leave in each constituent region of the UK in the last 12 months.

Margot James: The Government does not routinely collect information on the take-up of Shared Parental Leave and Maternity Leave, including by constituent regions. Maternity Leave is a ‘day 1 right’ and, subject to giving the correct notice, all employed mothers are able to take up to 52 weeks of Maternity Leave and must take at least two weeks of leave immediately following the birth of their child, four weeks if they work in a factory or workshop.

Directors: Conduct

Kirsten  Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many insolvency practitioners are registered to use the online Director Conduct Reporting Service.

Margot James: 1,015 licensed insolvency practitioners are registered to use the online Director Conduct Reporting Service.

Product Recalls and Safety Working Group

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he expects the final report of the Working Group on Product Recalls and Safety to be published; and if he will place a copy of that report in the Library.

Margot James: We have now received the report produced by the Working Group on Product Recalls and Safety which was set up by the Department to develop options to improve the safety of white goods and the recall system. We are considering the recommendations made by the Group, and are continuing to engage with them on their progress on activity aimed at improving the recall process. We expect to publish the report on the Product Safety page of gov.uk in due course and will place a copy in the Libraries of both Houses.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Procurement

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate his Department has made of its spending on managing procurement since it was established; and what estimate has been made of such spending in each year since 2010 of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

Margot James: The Department does not hold this information centrally and it can only be provided at disproportional cost. However, we can provide details of spending managing procurement in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills via UK SBS as follows:  2013/142014/152015/162016/17Managing procurement spend (£m)5.96.33.93.7

Local Growth Deals

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 21 March 2017 to Question 68255, on local growth deals, what funds are available for allocation to regional growth deals in addition to such funding for city deals.

Margot James: Holding answer received on 20 April 2017



The Government is committed to supporting economic growth across Scotland and is working with the Scottish Government and local partners to negotiate tailored City Deals with Edinburgh, Stirling and the Tay Cities. These will build on the existing deals we have already agreed for Glasgow, Inverness and Aberdeen – which will unlock up to £701 million of new UK Government funding, subject to agreed business cases for particular projects.

Manufacturing Industries: Calderdale

Craig Whittaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to support the manufacturing sector in Calderdale.

Margot James: Government has awarded £56m to Leeds City Region from the Local Growth Fund for a range of capital grants for SMEs. To date 407 grants have been awarded from the Business Growth Programme, with 70% going to businesses in the manufacturing sector. 42 of these grants, totalling £2.4m, have been awarded to SMEs in the manufacturing sector in Calderdale. In February this year we announced a £400m Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF), aimed at boosting the North of England’s economy and helping the region’s businesses realise their growth potential.

Carbon Capture and Storage

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what projects and activities are being carried out on carbon capture and storage in his Department overseen by the Office for Carbon Capture and Storage.

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which current projects related to carbon capture and storage are supported by funding from his Department; and what the value is of those contracts.

Jesse Norman: Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) issues are the responsibility of the Clean Electricity Directorate in the Department.Since 2015, the Government has allocated up to approximately £11 million on a range of carbon capture projects supporting research and development in CO2 storage, carbon capture technologies and CCS feasibility studies.The following current projects will be completed in 2017:Assessing the potential of CO2 utilisation in the UK. Contract value: £75,000;CO2 transport and storage: review of business models (Phase 1). Contract value: £20,000;Assessing the cost reduction potential and competitiveness of novel (next generation) UK carbon capture technology. Contract Value: £225,000. Additionally, the Government Energy Entrepreneurs Fund has funded approximately £1.6 million in support to innovative carbon capture technologies. Phase 5 of this Fund opened on 30 October 2016 with a budget of up to £9 million, which CCS projects were able to apply for. Phase 5 is currently going through the project selection process and the winners will be announced in due course. Further information can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-entrepreneurs-fund-phase-5The UK has also contracted with the EU to provide €5.5m to the ACT (Accelerating CCS Technologies) Co-fund project. Full details can be found at http://www.act-ccs.eu/.

Energy: Competition

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to review the efficacy of energy switching sites.

Margot James: It is important that consumers are confident they can find the best deals on price comparison websites.Currently all energy switching sites accredited to the Ofgem Confidence Code need to provide a comparison of all tariffs available across the market, as a default, regardless of whether the switching site has a commercial arrangement in place with the supplier.Following a recommendation by the Competition and Markets Authority, Ofgem launched a consultation on changes to the Confidence Code so that price comparison sites could show, as a default, only those tariffs for which it receives commission, provided it also includes clear and easy access to a whole of market comparison.Ofgem is due to publish its decision on the consultation shortly.

Energy: Meters

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 29 March 2017 to Question 68881, how much of the additional £1.548 million reduction in benefits, as reported in the 2016 Cost Benefit Analysis, is related to the problems of interoperability of SMETS1s.

Jesse Norman: There is no link in our assessments between the change in benefits mentioned in the question and the interoperability of SMETS1 meters

Wind Power: Powys

Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which grace period deadline would apply to Bryn Blaen Wind Farm in Powys under the Renewables Obligation support scheme.

Jesse Norman: I cannot comment on which grace period might be applicable to the Bryn Blaen wind farm as this is a commercial matter for the operator. Ofgem will assess whether a station meets the conditions of the relevant grace period at the point at which the station submits a full application for accreditation.

Directors: Conduct

Kirsten  Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many reports have been lodged on the Director Conduct Reporting Service under section 7A of the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986 in each quarter since that service commenced.

Margot James: The number of reports lodged on the Director Conduct Reporting Service (DCRS) each quarter since the service went live on 6 April 2016 is as follows: QuarterTotal DCRS Reports6 April 2016 – 30 June 2016239*1 July 2016 – 30 September 20163,4121 October 2016 – 31 December 20163,8101 January 2017 – 31 March 20174,081Total11,542 *The initial low figure is because office holders were only required to use the DCRS for new appointments from 6 April and have 3 months to report.

Cement: Coal

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much coal the UK cement industry used in each year from 2005 to the latest year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Jesse Norman: Since answering the question on 16th March 2017 BEIS has identified a source for this information.The table below shows how much coal the UK cement industry used each year from 2005-2015:Coal consumption by UK cement industry, 2005-2015 (coal used in tonnes)20052006200720082009201020112012201320142015959,450875,2551,150,252919,016572,618592,447602,976497,901483,807530,371569,253 This reduction was in part due to the industry switching to waste-derived alternative fuels, including biomass. Source: Mineral Products Association

Plastics: Coal

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what quality of steam coal the UK carbon fibre industry requires; where it currently sources coal; and if he will make a statement.

Jesse Norman: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy does not hold data on coal consumption at this level of disaggregation.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Freedom of Information

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many staff in his Department respond to Freedom of Information requests.

Margot James: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy does not have a specific number of staff tasked with responding to Freedom of Information (FOI) requests. On receipt FOI requests are allocated to officials in the area of the Department relevant to the subject of the request who provide the response.The Department’s Information Rights Unit (IRU) processes all FOI requests and provides advice and assistance to policy officials on the application of information rights legislation. The IRU consists of eight members of staff.

Research: South East

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to support investment in science research at universities within (a) West Sussex and (b) the South East.

Joseph Johnson: The Government is fully committed to maintaining the UK’s world-leading science, research and higher education base. According to Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) data, the University of Chichester in West Sussex received public research funding, from Higher Education Funding Council for England and the Research Councils, of £802,000 in 2015/16. HESA data shows that 19 institutions in the South East, which includes the universities of Oxford, Southampton and Reading, but excludes London, received a total of £544 million of public research funding in 2015/16. The Autumn Statement 2016 announcement of an extra £2 billion a year in research and development by 2020- 21 underlines the place of science and innovation at the heart of this Government’s industrial strategy.

Galileo System

Carol Monaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with EU counterparts on the continued participation of the UK in the Galileo project after the UK has left the EU.

Carol Monaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with EU counterparts on the future participation of the UK-based companies in the Galileo project after the UK has left the EU.

Joseph Johnson: This Government intends to secure the best possible outcome for the UK as we exit the European Union. The UK has played a major part in developing the main EU space programmes including Galileo. We would welcome an agreement to continue to collaborate with our European partners on major science, research, and technology initiatives; however it is too early to speculate on the UK’s future relationship with specific EU programmes and the Government will not be providing a commentary on each aspect of the negotiations.

Galileo System

Carol Monaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many UK-based companies will potentially be excluded from the Galileo project supply chain after the UK has left the EU.

Joseph Johnson: UK companies have been central to the development of the Galileo satellite navigation system since its inception. While the UK remains a Member of the European Union we will fully participate in the EU space programmes including Galileo, and it is the Government’s position that UK industry should be able to compete fairly for contracts during this period. The Government would welcome an agreement to continue to collaborate with our European partners on major science, research, and technology initiatives however the details of any future relationship will be part of the upcoming negotiations.

Global Navigation Satellite Systems

Carol Monaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what navigation system he plans for the UK to use after the UK has left the EU.

Carol Monaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what contingency he plans to put in place in the event the UK is unable to access the Galileo or GPS navigation systems after the UK leaves the UK.

Joseph Johnson: People and businesses in the UK will be able to continue to use the freely available signals from satellite navigation systems such as the American GPS and Galileo after the UK has left the EU. The UK’s arrangements to access the encrypted GPS signals will be unaffected by UK exit from the EU. upcoming negotiations. The UK is a world leader in the development of applications which exploit the signals from satellite navigation systems.

Hydroelectric Power: Feed-in Tariffs

Mr Edward Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effect of the feed-in tariff on low head hydro schemes in England; and if he will make a statement.

Jesse Norman: Over 1000 small-scale (high or low head) hydro installations have been registered in the Feed-in Tariff scheme since April 2010, comprising 182 megawatts of capacity as of the end of February 2017. The Feed-in Tariff contributed to a doubling* in the number of hydro installations in the UK between 2010 and 2015, though a smaller proportion in terms of capacity, as none of these new sites are above 2MW in size.*https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/regional-renewable-statistics

European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts: Location

Carol Monaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that staff remain in the UK in the light of the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts supercomputer moving to Italy.

Joseph Johnson: No final decision has yet been taken by the Members of European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) on the future location of its supercomputer. We have made clear the UK’s commitment and enduring entitlement to hosting the ECMWF Headquarters.

Ministry of Defence

Army: Training

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of infantry enlistees have left the army before completing their training in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Mike Penning: The proportion of infantry enlistees who left the Army before completing their training in the last five years is shown below: Financial YearProportion of Army Infantry Enlistees Who Did Not Complete Training2011-1237%2012-1330%2013-1431%2014-1534%2015-1627% Notes/Caveats:The figures are for untrained Regular Army only and therefore exclude Gurkhas, Full Time Reserve Service, Mobilised Reserves, Army Reserve and all other Reserves.The figures are for those personnel who enlisted into Infantry as untrained during the financial year and have subsequently outflowed prior to completion of training. Some of these personnel may have joined as Infantry and changed Arm/Service prior to leaving. There could be a small number of personnel who joined at the end of 2016 and may still be untrained.

Army: Discharges

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many army recruits aged under 18 were discharged for a defect on enlistment in the last two years for which figures are available; and what each of those defects were.

Mike Penning: Of those aged under 18 years of age on enlistment to the Regular Army as soldiers, the total number discharged under the category of 'defect in enlistment procedure' was 50 in 2015-16 and 30 in 2016-17. Totals have been rounded to the nearest '5'.The specific reasons leading to defect in enlistment discharges are not recorded centrally, but include medical/health reasons, or previously undeclared criminal activity that has come to light after enlistment.

Army: Training

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many prospective AFCH instructors (a) failed the Army Staff and Leadership School (ASLS), (b) arrived at the ASLS without disclosure and barring service (DBS) clearance and (c) completed ASLS without DBS clearance in each of the last five years.

Mike Penning: In the last five years no instructors from the Army Foundation College, Harrogate have failed the Army Staff and Leadership School (ASLS) course.Information on those arriving and completing courses at ASLS without Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) clearance is not held centrally and can be provided only at disproportionate cost. All permanent staff posts at Army Foundation College, Harrogate require DBS clearance. I refer the hon. Member to the answer my hon. Friend the Minister for Defence Veterans Reserves and Welfare (Mark Lancaster) gave on 9 December 2016 to Question 56016 to the hon. Member for Bridgend (Mrs Moon).



56016 - WQnA extract on AFC: Vetting
(PDF Document, 38.31 KB)

Armed Forces: Communication

Chris Elmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the effect of the cessation of the e-bluey system on the families of armed service personnel.

Mark Lancaster: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 31 March 2017 to Question 68970 to the hon. Member for Strangford (Mr Shannon).http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2017-03-23/68970/



70983 - WQnA extract on Armed Forces Communication
(Word Document, 14.75 KB)

RAF St Athan

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of relocation of No 4 School of Technical Training at St Athan to RAS Cosford on (a) 614 RAF Auxiliary Squadron, (b) University of Wales Air Squadron, (c) 2300 Air Cadets Squadron, (d) Regional Rehabilitation Unit for Wales and the Midlands and (e) the Band of the Prince of Wales; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Lancaster: The proposed move of No. 4 School of Technical Training from MOD St Athan to RAF Cosford will not directly affect the other units based there. However, as No. 4 School of Technical Training is the primary user of the support services at MOD St Athan, the scale of the support services provided at the site may be reviewed following the move.

Ministry of Defence: Departmental Records

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has plans to change rules governing the disposal of military records; and whether any changes to those rules over the last 30 years.

Mark Lancaster: Ministry of Defence records are subject to the provisions of the Public Records Act 1958 (PRA) and there are no plans to change this policy.In the last 30 years the rules have been changed to accord with relevant amendments to the PRA, such as the reduction of the retention period from 30 years to 20 years under the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010.Military service records are exempt from this policy on Data Protection Grounds. Service records are retained for a minimum of 100 years following an individual's date of birth.

RAF St Athan

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will place in the Library copies of discussion papers on the proposed relocation of his Department's St Athan No 4 School of Technical Training to RAF Cosford; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Lancaster: Discussions around the proposed relocation of No 4 School of Technical Training to RAF Cosford are ongoing and it would not be appropriate to publish these at this time.

MOD Lyneham

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the off-site accommodation costs for phase 3 trainees at RAF Lynham has been in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Lancaster: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate costs.

RAF St Athan

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what sport and recreation facilities are available on his Department's St Athan site; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Lancaster: The sport and recreation facilities available at the MOD St Athan site consist of a Gym and an Astroturf pitch.

RAF St Athan

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate his Department has made of the costs of (a) staff relocation, (b) movement of equipment and (c) upgrading of buildings associated with transferring No. 4 School of Technical Training to Cosford; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Lancaster: The costs associated with the relocation of No. 4 School of Technical Training from MOD St Athan to RAF Cosford are still being finalised.

Ministry of Defence: Procurement

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will place the 2017 Initial Gate Business Case for Project CUBIT in the Library; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Lancaster: Work on the 2017 Initial Gate Business Case for Project CUBIT is ongoing and it would not be appropriate to publish it at this time.

Ministry of Defence: Land

Mr Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraphs 1.296 and 1.297 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, what progress his Department has made by estimated capacity of land sold since March 2016 in identifying and disposing of land to meet the Government's commitment.

Mark Lancaster: During financial year 2016-17, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) accrued gross receipts of around £155 million, and released land with sufficient capacity for around 4,250 new homes.Under the Better Defence Estate Strategy (A military led strategy), published on 7 November 2016, we are releasing 81 sites which will contribute towards the MOD's disposal and housing targets.

Aircraft Carriers: Helicopters

James Heappey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when his Department plans for the Maritime Intra Theatre Lift Solution to be identified.

Harriett Baldwin: The Department is currently developing plans for Maritime Intra Theatre Lift (MITL) based upon in-service helicopters. The Strategic Defence and Security Review 2020 process will consider the Defence requirement for a medium-to-long term MITL solution.

HMS Queen Elizabeth

James Heappey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how his Department plans to supply the QEC Carrier Group at extended range with any critical items not held on board an accompanying solid support ship.

Harriett Baldwin: The supply chain solution for the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers will vary according to the nature of the demand. The Department is currently developing plans for Maritime Intra Theatre Lift (MITL) based upon in-service helicopters.

Joint Intelligence Analysis Centre

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost (a) in total and (b) to the public purse will be of the planned development of the Joint Intelligence Operations Centre Europe Analytic Centre at RAF Croughton.

Mike Penning: The costs of the planned Joint Intelligence Analysis Centre at RAF Croughton will be primarily funded by the United States, with some costs falling to the Ministry of Defence. However, as the Department will shortly be tendering for the works it would not be appropriate to release the costs as to do so would prejudice commercial interests.

Armed Forces' Pay Review Body

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many applications the board of the Armed Forces' Pay Review Body received during its last intake.

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, who makes appointments to the Board of the Armed Forces' Pay Review Body; which other organisations or individuals provide advice on those appointments; and at what stage of the process such advice is provided.

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of the Armed Forces' Pay Review Body board are (a) women, (b) from black or minority ethnic backgrounds, (c) disabled or (d) from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

Mark Lancaster: Membership of the Armed Forces’ Pay Review Body (AFPRB) is by Ministerial appointment. Applicants for public appointments go through a strict recruitment process which adheres to Cabinet Office policy and requirements set by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments. Ministers are required to approve the recruitment programme, job advert and the composition of the Advisory Assessment Panel before the campaign begins. For AFPRB appointments the advisory panel consists of senior officials from the Ministry of Defence, Her Majesty’s Treasury, the Office of Manpower Economics as well as an independent member and, when appropriate, the Chair of the AFPRB. The role of the panel is to provide objective advice on appointable candidates who meet the published criteria for the job from which Ministers can select. During the last recruitment, which was advertised in August 2016, 37 applications were received. Currently the AFPRB consists of eight members, of which three are women. None are from a declared black or ethnic minority background or declared disabled. Information on whether members are from a lower socio-economic background is not requested and is therefore not held.

Ministry of Defence: Conditions of Employment

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of staff employed by his Department are employed on a contract which is (a) full-time permanent, (b) part-time permanent, (c) for less than two years' duration, (d) on an agency basis and (e) zero-hours.

Mark Lancaster: As at 20 April 2017, 37,456 civilian staff were employed by Ministry of Defence. The number and proportion of civilian staff employed on: full-time permanent contract is 32,530 (86.8%)part-time permanent contract is 3,920 (10.5%)a fixed-term contract of less than two years' duration (both full and part-time) is 300 (0.8%)on an agency basis 706 (1.9%) (at 31 March 2017) The Ministry of Defence does not employ individuals on zero hours contracts.

Syria: Military Intervention

Kirsten  Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 24 February 2017 to Question 64013, on armed forces: deployment, what the legal basis was for UK involvement in US airstrikes against (a) Junaid Hussain and (b) Mohammed Emwazi.

Mike Penning: Junaid Hussain and Mohammed Emwazi were members of Daesh. The UK has been working as part of a Coalition since September 2014 which was invited by the Iraqi Prime Minister to defeat Daesh, on the legal basis of the collective self-defence of Iraq. This was confirmed by the UK Permanent Representative to the UN in a letter dated 25 November 2014 to the UN Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council indicating that the UK is taking measures "to enable Iraqi forces to regain control of the borders of Iraq by striking ISIL [Daesh] sites and military strongholds in Syria".

Armed Forces: Deployment

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what deployments have been made of the armed forces to (a) other EU member states, (b) other non-EU EEA member states and (c) states which are applying for membership of the EU since 2010.

Mike Penning: The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The security and stability of the UK has long depended on our strong partnerships in the Euro-Atlantic area, including NATO. Indeed, NATO remains the cornerstone of UK defence. Our European neighbours represent some of our closest friends and NATO allies, and our defence engagement with them reflects this as routine business. We exercise with them regularly to bolster our interoperability. For example, the Defence Secretary was in Tallinn last week for the opening ceremony of Estonia's NATO enhanced Forward Presence deployment, for which UK is framework nation.

Ministry of Defence: Private Education

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much was spent by his Department on private school fees for children of staff who are based (a) in the UK and (b) overseas in 2016-17.

Mark Lancaster: During financial year (FY) 2016-17, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) spent £103.4 million on Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA) for the children of Service personnel; this equates to £87.1 million for Service personnel assigned to the UK and £16.3 million for Service personnel assigned overseas. The earlier than usual processing of CEA claims for summer term 2017 has caused £23 million of expenditure to be accounted for in the last accounting period of FY 2016-17 rather than, as in previous years, the first accounting period of FY 2017-18. This accounting practice does not detract from the progress made since 2010 in reducing spend on this allowance.The MOD also pays Boarding School Allowance and Day School Allowance towards schooling costs for the children of civilian employees who are posted overseas, with a small amount paid to officers who have returned to the UK but have continuing entitlement. In FY 2016-17 this amounted to £0.457 million, with £0.053 million paid to staff based in the UK and £0.404 million paid to staff based overseas.

Aircraft Carriers: Procurement

James Heappey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraph 2.33 of the National Audit Office report, Delivering Carrier Strike, published on 16 March 2017, whether his Department plans to fund the Queen Elizabeth class carriers' logistic enablers in SDSR 2020.

James Heappey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will examine options in SDSR 2020 to enable HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales to conduct long-range and rapid amphibious assault by air.

James Heappey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will examine options in SDSR 2020 to enable HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales to extend the effective combat radius of the F-35B through the introduction of a shipborne air-to-air refuelling capability.

Harriett Baldwin: The Department will continue to explore a variety of options to augment the capabilities of the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers in future. Decisions on funding will be taken at the appropriate time within the Defence annual budget cycle.

Ministry of Defence: Social Media

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department is enrolled on any trusted flagger programmes with social media companies.

Mark Lancaster: The Ministry of Defence is not enrolled on any trusted flagger programmes with social media companies.

Iraq: Detainees

Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether UK armed forces in Iraq have made official video recordings of interrogations of Iraqi detainees.

Mike Penning: UK Armed Forces currently deployed to Iraq under Op SHADER are not involved with the detention or interrogation of any Iraqi prisoners. As such, there is no requirement for UK Armed Forces to make any video recordings of any interrogations of Iraqi detainees.

Ministry of Defence: Management Consultants

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 7 March 2017 to Question 65681, on procurement, how much of the procurement spending in each of those years related to the services of management consultants.

Harriett Baldwin: This information is not held in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. I can, however, provide a breakdown of the Ministry of Defence’s total Net Expenditure on Advisory Consultancy since 2010. These figures represent expenditure on bringing in objective external advice on strategy, structure, management or operations outside the business-as-usual environment when in-house knowledge and experience are not available. Advisory Consultancy Net Expenditure2010-112011-122012-132013-142014-152015-16£25,780,990£18,639,871£44,611,000£90,352,293£91,234,749£48,428,223

World War I: Departmental Records

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether documents relevant to the Haig Board of Inquiry into the Etaples mutiny in 1917 are retained by the Government.

Mark Lancaster: No records pertaining to the Haig Board of Inquiry into the Etaples mutiny of 1917 have been retained by the Ministry of Defence.

Ministry of Defence: Freedom of Information

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many staff in his Department respond to Freedom of Information requests.

Mark Lancaster: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) maintains a central Freedom of Information (FOI) team comprising eleven posts. In addition to these posts, the MOD has a network of focal points across the Department who are responsible for providing FOI guidance within their business area, although this is not their primary function.All staff are responsible for ensuring that the Department as a whole is able to meet its legislative obligations under the FOI Act, and can be involved in preparing responses to requests.

Military Bases: York

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department's report, A Better Defence Estate, published in November 2016, what the annual running costs of (a) Imphal Barracks, (b) Queen Elizabeth II Barracks and (c) Towthorpe Lines have been in each financial year since 2010-11.

Mark Lancaster: Details of the annual running costs of these sites in each financial year since 2010-11 are not held in the format requested.

Military Bases: York

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what buildings within the military sites listed in the Better Defence Estate programme in City of York constituency have a listed historical status.

Mark Lancaster: The following buildings within Imphal Barracks have listed historical status.The Keep - Grade IIDanesmead House - Grade IIOusefield House - Grade IIThere are no listed buildings or scheduled monuments at either Queen Elizabeth Barracks or Towthorpe Lines.

European Fighter Aircraft

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 14 March 2016 to Question 30993, what the timeline is for the procurement and installation of a collision warning system for the Typhoon aircraft.

Harriett Baldwin: The Department remains committed to embodying a collision warning system on Typhoon as a priority. Planning is continuing for a feasibility study. Timelines will be informed by this study.

NATO: Military Exercises

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) military assets and (b) personnel from his Department took part in NATO exercise Dynamic Manta from 13 to 25 March 2017.

Mike Penning: The UK contributed two Royal Navy Merlin Mark 2 helicopters and 65 personnel to the NATO-led Exercise Dynamic Manta 2017.

Armed Forces: Housing

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 3 April 2017 to Question 69280, how many of the (a) service family accommodation and (b) single living accommodation units are located in, or in the vicinity of, (i) RAF Lossiemouth, (ii) Kinloss Barracks, (iii) Redford Barracks, (iv) Glencorse Barracks, (v) Fort George Barracks and (vi) HMNB Clyde.

Mark Lancaster: The number of Service Family Accommodation (SFA) and Single Living Accommodation (SLA) units in the vicinity of each of the Ministry of Defence sites requested is shown below as of April 2017.  SiteSFA HomesSLA BedspacesRAF Lossiemouth661c950Kinloss Barracks243c830Redford Barracks546c420Glencorse Barracks159c420Fort George Barracks201c480HMNB Clyde595c2,390 The SFA units in the vicinity of Redford Barracks are also used to support other Edinburgh based Service personnel and are not for the exclusive use of Redford Barracks.

Marines: Staff

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what is the manpower by unit (a) actual and (b) projected of the Royal Marines.

Mike Penning: The published total trained strength for Regular and Full-Time Reserve Service Personnel in the Royal Marines as at 1 March 2017 is 6,790. This includes Royal Marines who are managed as part of the relevant Royal Navy branches. The figure has been taken from the RN/RM Monthly Situation Report and further statistical information can be found at:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/608021/20170411_-_FINAL_-_RN_RM_Monthly_Situation_Report__rounded_.pdfIn terms of the projected number of Royal Marines, the Ministry of Defence undertakes detailed manpower planning for the Armed Forces but does not publish interim projections.

Military Bases: York

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what consultation his Department undertook prior to the decision to publish on 7 November 2016, his Department's Better Defence Estate Strategy to dispose of military sites in the City of York.

Mark Lancaster: The estate optimisation strategy - "A Better Defence Estate" was developed with military advice from the Front Line Commands and was agreed by the single Service Chiefs and the Defence Board. Civilian HR representatives were also involved regarding impact for civilian staff. Initial discussions were held with Local Authorities immediately following the announcement. More detailed discussions are under way as we work towards disposal of specific sites.

Military Bases: York

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many other countries (a) used in the last 10 years and (b) plan to use the medical training facilities at Strensall Station in the City of York.

Mark Lancaster: In the last ten years 20 other countries have used the Army Medical Services Training Centre at Strensall and six other countries have plans to use the facilities up to 2020.

Royal Fleet Auxiliary: Staff

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the manpower of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary was for each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Lancaster: The published manpower figures for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary for each of the last five years are: 1 April 20131 April 20141 April 20151 April 20161 January 20171,9001,8201,8901,9501,940 Notes:Published figures for April 2017 will not be available until 11 May 2017.Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10, numbers ending in “5” have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias. The above figures have been taken from the Ministry of Defence Quarterly Personnel Report for 1 January 2017. This contains further statistical information and can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/591838/20170203_-_QCPR_January_2017.pdf

Warships and Submarines: Decommissioning

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what Royal Navy ships and submarines have been decommissioned in each of the last five years; which are to be decommissioned over the next five years; and if he will make a statement.

Harriett Baldwin: I have interpreted “decommissioned” to mean withdrawn from service. In relation to the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels that have been withdrawn from service in the last five years, I refer my right hon. Friend to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister for Defence Personnel, Reserves and Veterans (Mark Lancaster) on 20 March 2017, to Question number 68186 to the hon. Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale (Tim Farron). The ships that are programmed to be withdrawn from service over the next five years are listed in the table below. It should be noted that the dates may move depending on operational needs at that time.  YearShip2017RFA GOLD ROVER, HMS SEVERN2018HMS OCEAN2019HMS CLYDE, HMS MERSEY2020-2021- In respect of submarines, I am withholding information on their programmed withdrawal from service dates as disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

Weapons

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what new weapon systems were due into service in each of the last five years.

Harriett Baldwin: One new weapons system was introduced during the last five years, but I am withholding the information as its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

Ministry of Defence: North Herefordshire

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department has spent in North Herefordshire constituency since 2015.

Mark Lancaster: The value of direct contracts in financial year (FY) 2014-15, where the billing address is identified as in North Herefordshire is, £1,792,814. In FY 2015-16 the value is £857,964. The data for 2016-17 is not yet available. No adjustment has been made for contracts, such as enabling contracts, which may cover the whole of the Ministry of Defence (MOD) estate. The figures and this methodology do not therefore give a full representation of the amount of work truly undertaken in North Herefordshire. A summary of MOD regional expenditure with UK industry and supported employment 2015-16 can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/mod-regional-expenditure-with-uk-industry-and-supported-employment-index

Bomb Disposal: Northern Ireland

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on how many occasions explosive ordnance disposal personnel were deployed in Northern Ireland between 1 January and 31 March 2017.

Mike Penning: Incidents requiring explosive ordnance disposal experts in Northern Ireland are dealt with solely by military personnel. Between 1 January and 31 March 2017 explosive ordnance disposal personnel have responded to 59 incidents in Northern Ireland.

Department for Communities and Local Government

National Holocaust Memorial Centre and Learning Service

Sir Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when Westminster residents were first consulted on the use of Victoria Tower Gardens for a National Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre.

Mr Marcus Jones: The UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation first wrote to local residents on 14 September 2016.

National Holocaust Memorial Centre and Learning Service

Sir Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, who in (a) the Prime Minister's Office and (b) his Department considered the three original proposals for the siting of the National Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre; and what assessment was made relative to those sites of the potential merits of using Victoria Tower Gardens.

Mr Marcus Jones: As the cross-party body advising government on taking forward the recommendations of the Holocaust Commission, the UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation was tasked with finding the most appropriate location for a national memorial to the Holocaust and an accompanying education centre. The Prime Minister publically said at the annual Holocaust Memorial Day ceremony on 27 January 2017, that government agrees with the Foundation’s recommendation that Victoria Tower Gardens, next to Parliament, is considered the most appropriate of the almost 50 sites examined, including those identified by the Commission in Lambeth and at Millbank. The option of locating at Potters Field, referred to in the Holocaust Commission report, no longer exists.

Airports: Planning Permission

Byron Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the criteria are for granting of planning permission on strategic airfield sites to be reviewed.

Gavin Barwell: All applications for planning permission, including any that are called in by the Secretary of State, must be determined in accordance with the development plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise.The National Planning Policy Framework is a material consideration in planning decisions and the Framework’s policies for delivering sustainable development must be considered as a whole. Where relevant, this would include the policy for airports and airfields (that are not subject to a separate national policy statement), which expects local planning authorities to take account of their growth and role in serving business, leisure, training and emergency needs. Planning guidance supporting the Framework makes clear that local authorities should consider the interconnectivity between airfields of different sizes and that they should have regard to the Aviation Policy Framework.Airfields are considered alongside all other relevant planning considerations by the decision-taker in determining a planning application.

Dunsfold Aerodrome

Byron Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what criteria he plans to use to assess the case for planning permission for housing on Dunsfold Aerodrome.

Gavin Barwell: On 8 March, my Rt Hon Friend, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, called in an application for planning permission for a mixed use settlement at Dunsfold Park (aerodrome), Cranleigh, Surrey. In doing so, he explained that the matters he wished to be particularly informed about in considering the application were the location and sustainability of the proposal and any other matters that the planning inspector conducting the inquiry considers to be relevant. It would be inappropriate for me to comment further on this case.All applications for planning permission must be determined in accordance with the development plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise.

Severe Disability Premium

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 5 January 2016 to Question 20446, on severe disability premium, whether the Government plans to (a) uplift the social care budget and (b) transfer funds from the Department for Work and Pensions to his Department to compensate for the phasing out of the severe disability premium and the transfer of costs for care to be picked up through the social care system; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Government has already taken several steps during this Parliament to help secure a strong and sustainable social care system. Most recently in the 2017 Spring Budget, the Chancellor announced that councils will receive an additional £2 billion over the next three years for social care; with £1 billion of this to be provided in 2017-18. Taken together with the steps announced as part of the Local Government Finance Settlement, this means that councils will have access to £9.25 billion more dedicated funding for social care over the next three years, as a result of measures introduced by the Government since 2015.In relation to the severe disability premium, this reform of social security removed duplication from the system and I refer the Hon Member to the Answer of 29 January 2016 to Question UIN 24311 - http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2016-01-26/24311/.

Equity Release: Older People

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the effect of the growth of the equity release industry on housing options for older people.

Gavin Barwell: The Government's Housing White Paper emphasises that helping older people to move at the right time and in the right way can help to improve their quality of life as well as freeing up more homes for other buyers.

Refuges: Minority Groups

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of whether current refuge provision for BAMER women who are victims of abuse is sufficient to meet the specific needs of those women.

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the availability of specialist refuge provision for BAMER women who are victims of abuse.

Mr Marcus Jones: Domestic abuse is a devastating crime and we are determined to ensure that victims, regardless of their circumstances, should receive the support they need when they need it. Local areas are best placed to understand local needs and the Government has devolved power and responsibility for meeting those needs accordingly. We expect local areas to do the right thing and provide services that are responsive to the needs of victims of domestic abuse. Local areas should assess their need for domestic abuse services and make decisions on the provision of refuges and support to fit the identified needs for all domestic abuse victims, including those from BME groups, both from within and outside their local area. To help meet this challenge, the Government’s Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy, published on 8 March 2016, commits us to providing funding of £40 million to support victims of domestic abuse, including specific provision for victims from BME backgrounds. The prospectus for our 2016-18 £20 million fund was clear that bids should set out how their proposals meet the needs of those victims from diverse groups, as well as protecting assets of national significance such as the very specialist refuges which provide culturally specific and sensitive services. Alongside the £20 million fund, we published our new ‘Priorities for Domestic Abuse Services’, developed with partners from the domestic abuse sector, which sets out for the first time what local areas need to do to ensure an effective response to meeting the needs of all domestic abuse victims.

Communities and Local Government: Security

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many security passes giving access to his Department's premises have been issued in each year since 2010.

Mr Marcus Jones: The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Communities and Local Government: Security

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many people holding security passes for other Government Departments are granted access to his Department's premises with that pass, by Department.

Mr Marcus Jones: The information requested is not held centrally.

Communities and Local Government: Staff

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many people are currently employed by his Department.

Mr Marcus Jones: As of 31 March 2017 this Department had 1525 employees contracted on a permanent or fixed term basis. This figure includes a number of staff on outward interchange and leave of absence.   Under the standard definition of headcount used for statutory reporting purposes this Department had 1453 directly paid employees as of 31 March 2017. This is the published headcount figure calculated using the Office for National Statistics definition of employee headcount.

Communities and Local Government: Security

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many security passes giving access to his Department's premises are currently valid.

Mr Marcus Jones: The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Housing: Land

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many local authorities in England have a deliverable five year housing land supply as required by the National Planning Policy Framework.

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many local authorities in England have 90 per cent of a deliverable five year housing land supply as required by the National Planning Policy Framework.

Gavin Barwell: The National Planning Policy Framework requires local planning authorities to identify a supply of deliverable sites sufficient to provide five years' worth of housing against their housing requirements. We do not hold information centrally on how many authorities have a deliverable five-year housing land supply because the position changes frequently, as it is subject to market conditions.The Housing White Paper includes a proposal to offer greater certainty to local planning authorities, developers and communities by enabling authorities to consult with key stakeholders and agree their housing land supply with the Planning Inspectorate. This would then be fixed for a one-year period.

Airports: Vacant Land

Kelly Tolhurst: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he plans to take to reclassify the status of airfields to greenfield under planning regulations.

Gavin Barwell: It is our National Planning Policy Framework, not regulation, that defines brownfield. This states clearly that, if a site is brownfield, it should not be assumed that the whole curtilage should be developed. Whilst this Government is keen to ensure the re-use of brownfield sites that are not of high environmental value, especially for new homes, it would be for the local authority to decide whether an airfield should be retained for general aviation; whether a site, or part of a site, is suitable for redevelopment; and whether former airfield land should be retained for uses such as nature conservation, recreation or agriculture.The local authority should have regard to all relevant policies in the National Planning Policy Framework including, where relevant, the policy for airports and airfields (that are not subject to a separate national policy statement) which expects local planning authorities to take account of their growth and role in serving business, leisure, training and emergency needs.

Building Regulations

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what use is made of Clerks of Works in evaluating building projects.

Gavin Barwell: It is for those commissioning building work to decide whether to employ a clerk of works to evaluate or supervise the building work they wish to carry out. In many cases architects, structural and civil engineers and other professionals are used as an alternative to a clerk of works.

Housing: Construction

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to strengthen provisions in building regulations on ensuring that materials and methods used in housing construction are more resilient to the risk of flooding and damage caused by water leaks.

Gavin Barwell: The statutory guidance in Approved Document C (Site preparation and resistance to contaminants and moisture) which supports the Building Regulations promotes the use of flood resilience and resistance measures in flood prone areas. The document references guidance produced jointly by the Department for Communities and Local Government, Defra and the Environment Agency – Improving the flood performance of new buildings – Flood resilient construction. Much of the information is applicable to resilient repair as well as new build.The Building Regulations also require that floors, roof and walls of buildings should be adequately protected from harmful effects caused by spillage of water from or associated with sanitary fittings or fixed appliance. Guidance on how to meet this requirement is set out in Approved Document C.

Disabled Facilities Grants

Mr Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 30 March 2017 to Question 69298, what steps his Department is taking to oblige upper tier authorities to pass in full Disabled Facilities Grants to local housing authorities where the upper tier authority refuses to so.

Mr Marcus Jones: My Department has included a condition in the 2017-18 Disabled Facilities Grant Determination letter which stipulates that in two-tier areas, upper tier authorities must pass funding for adaptations down to their lower tier authorities promptly, and in full, unless the lower tier authorities have expressly agreed that a portion of the funding can be used for wider social care capital projects.

Small Businesses: Non-domestic Rates

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many businesses will benefit from the targeted support for Small Business Rate Relief measure in Budget 2017; and what the breakdown by (a) region, (b) constituency and (c) local authority of those businesses will be.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Department estimates that 16,000 businesses will benefit from the targeted support for Small Business Rate Relief recipients measure announced at Budget 2017. The Department does not hold the data required to provide a breakdown by region, constituency or local authority.

Households

Mr David Nuttall: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how his Department calculated household projections provided in its publication, 2014-based household projections in England, 2014 to 2039.

Gavin Barwell: The Department publishes a detailed description of the methodology used to calculate the household projections, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/2014-based-household-projections-methodologyIt should be noted that as of 23 January 2017, the responsibility for the household projections has been transferred to the Office for National Statistics, who are responsible for all future publications.

Communities and Local Government: North Herefordshire

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much his Department has spent in North Herefordshire constituency since 2015.

Mr Marcus Jones: The information is not centrally held in the form requested and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. Funding is generally not allocated by Parliamentary constituency.

Council Housing: Sales

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will proceed with the forced sale of council homes and other assets to fund the Right to Buy.

Gavin Barwell: Under the Housing and Planning Act 2016 local authorities can be required to make a payment in respect of their higher value housing that is expected to become vacant in any year. The legislation requires various statutory processes to be followed, including consulting representatives of local government and relevant professional bodies before issuing a determination, setting out local authorities’ payments. Local authorities will not be required to make a payment in respect of their higher value vacant housing in 2017/18.

Council Housing: West Bromwich East

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many people are on the waiting list for council housing in West Bromwich East constituency.

Gavin Barwell: Figures are not available at constituency level.

Private Rented Housing: West Bromwich East

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what proportion of tenants in West Bromwich East constituency live in private rented accommodation.

Gavin Barwell: The Department does not produce constituency level estimates.

Affordable Housing: Construction

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many affordable homes were completed in each of the last seven years in (a) England and (b) each region.

Gavin Barwell: The number of additional affordable homes are available at local authority level in live table 1008 published on the departments website.https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-affordable-housing-supplyAs outlined in the Written Ministerial Statement of 18 September 2012, Official Report, Column 32WS, my department no longer publishes statistics by government office region. Local authority figures from which regional estimates can be calculated can be found in live table 1008.

Starter Home Initiative

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many starter homes he expects to be completed by 8 June 2017.

Gavin Barwell: Our White Paper: Fixing our Broken Housing Market sets out the Government’s ambition to support more people into home ownership through a range of products, including shared ownership, rent-to-buy and starter homes. We have made strong progress by developing a framework for starter homes through the Housing and Planning Act 2016; delivering planning reforms; and making a £1.2 billion starter homes land fund available.

Social Services: Finance

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of adult social care funding.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Budget provided £2 billion of new funding to support social care. Councils will now have access to £9.25 billion more dedicated funding for social care over the next three years as a result of measures introduced by the Government since 2015.

Scotland Office

Scotland Office: Data Protection

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many (a) official and (b) official sensitive documents have been recorded as lost by his Department since 8 May 2015.

David Mundell: Two official sensitive documents are recorded as having been lost by the Scotland Office since 8 May 2015. All losses are assessed and responded to individually and on a case by case basis with all possible mitigating actions being taken and in full compliance of our legal and other responsibilities.

Schools: Equality

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what discussions he has had with his Cabinet colleagues on the Time for Inclusive Education campaign.

David Mundell: I have regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues. I fully support the Time for Inclusive Education campaign to tackle prejudice and spread understanding in our schools, giving LGBTI young people equality and respect.

Boundary Commission for Scotland: Public Appointments

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many applications the board of the Boundary Commission for Scotland received during its last intake.

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what proportion of the Boundary Commission for Scotland board are (a) women, (b) from black or minority ethnic backgrounds, (c) disabled or (d) from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, who makes appointments to the Board of the Boundary Commission for Scotland; which other organisations or individuals provide advice on those appointments; and at what stage of the process they each do so.

David Mundell: The Boundary Commission for Scotland (BCS) is an advisory, non-departmental public body, sponsored by the Scotland Office. Details of the current members of the BCS can be viewed at this link:http://www.bcomm-scotland.independent.gov.uk/commission/commissioners.asp. The BCS’ two Commissioners are appointed by the Secretary of State for Scotland, in line with the Governance Code for Public Appointments:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/578498/governance_code_on_public_appointments_16_12_2016.pdf. The most recent appointment to the BCS was made by the Secretary of State for Scotland in February 2016. The successful candidate, Professor Henderson, was selected from a field of 120 applicants, following advertisement in the national press and interview by a panel.

Scotland Office: Freedom of Information

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many staff in his Department respond to Freedom of Information requests.

David Mundell: Depending on the nature of the request and to ensure an appropriate response, staff from across the Department are involved in responding to Freedom of Information requests.

Department for International Trade

Coal Fired Power Stations: India

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential contribution by UK businesses to the Indian Government's plan to replace all coal plants over 25-years old with super-critical coal plants.

Greg Hands: The Government supports initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and move to low carbon forms of electricity generation. We see a move away from the use of coal, the most carbon intensive of fuels, as an essential part of this.

Department for International Trade: Data Protection

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many (a) official and (b) official sensitive documents have been recorded as lost by his Department since 8 May 2015.

Greg Hands: The information requested is not held centrally. All losses are assessed and responded to individually and on a case by case basis with all possible mitigating actions being taken and in full compliance of our legal and other responsibilities.

Department for International Trade: Security

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many people holding security passes for other Government Departments are granted access to his Department's premises with that pass, by Department.

Greg Hands: Civil Servants have the ability to work flexibly across government sites where there is a business need to do so. The issuing of all passes is controlled by the local Departmental Security teams who follow strict procedures and protocols. Information on the number of people holding security passes for other government departments who are granted access to the DIT premises is not centrally recorded.

Department for International Trade: Staff

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many people are currently employed by his Department.

Greg Hands: The Department for International Trade employed 1318 Civil Servants as at 31 March 2017.

Exports: West Yorkshire

Craig Whittaker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many companies in (a) West Yorkshire and (b) Calderdale exported goods or services to non-EU countries in each year since 2010.

Mark Garnier: Data on the number of companies that export goods from West Yorkshire and Calderdale are not available. The number of companies in Yorkshire and the Humber exporting goods to non-EU countries since 2010 is available in the HMRC Regional Trade Statistics. Data for 2013 to 2016:https://www.uktradeinfo.com/Statistics/RTS/RTS%20Releases/RTS_Q4_2016.xls (Table 3, CEp) Data for 2010 to 2012:https://www.uktradeinfo.com/Statistics/RTS/RTS%20Releases/RtsQ42012.xls (Table 3, CE)

Department for International Trade: Conditions of Employment

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many and what proportion of staff employed by his Department are employed on a contract which is (a) full-time permanent, (b) part-time permanent, (c) for less than two years' duration, (d) on an agency basis and (e) zero-hours.

Greg Hands: The number and proportion of people employed by the Department for International Trade in the categories requested are shown in the table below. NumberProportionFull time permanent contract234875.1%Part time permanent contract41013.1%Contract for less than 2 years150.5%Agency contract35311.3%Zero hours contract00%Total3126100%

Department for International Trade: Management Consultants

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how much his Department has spent on the services of management consultants since its creation.

Greg Hands: The Cabinet Office defines consultancy spend as the provision to management of objective advice relating to strategy, structure, management or operations of an organisation. The definition does not include the delivery of solutions or contingent labour. The Department for International Trade (DIT) currently has one exemption to Cabinet Office Controls on consultancy spend relating to the provision of strategic advice and implementation guidance for the UK Trade and Investment transformation programme.

Department for International Trade: Third Sector

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with which civil society organisations officials of his Department have met to discuss sustainable development and trade since July 2016.

Greg Hands: The UK Government is firmly committed to delivering the UN Sustainable Development Goals both at home and around the world. The Department for International Trade has met with a variety of civil society organisations. We are working closely with them across a range of areas, including sustainable development, as we develop our approach to trade policy.

Department for International Trade: Secondment

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many staff are seconded to his Department; and how many such staff are seconded from which companies and organisations.

Greg Hands: The number of people currently seconded to the Department for International Trade, and the company/organisation they are from, is shown in the table below: Organisation Number of employeesAllen and Overy1Atkins1Babcock1BAE Systems2Homes & Communities Agency1House of Commons1Leonardo1Lockheed Martin UK1Maze Long Kesh Development Corporation1MBDA2NHS England1Norton Rose1Rolls Royce2Shell2Watson Farley Williams1Total19

Overseas Trade: Egypt

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps his Department is taking to increase trade with Egypt.

Mark Garnier: The UK is Egypt’s largest foreign direct investor and is a longstanding trading partner. To increase trade and investment further, the Department for International Trade (DIT) works with UK companies already in Egypt and supports those exploring the market for the first time. UK Export Finance has increased its country limit to support UK trade with Egypt to £750m and guarantees approved loans to Egyptian buyers denominated in Egyptian Pounds. The Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, works with DIT to promote UK trade and investment with Egypt. In addition, five UK trade delegations have visited Egypt over the last year.

Drugs: Philippines

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether he discussed deaths related to the war on drugs in the Philippines at his meeting with the President of the Philippines on 4 April 2017.

Greg Hands: I refer the hon Member to the answer I gave to the hon Member for Hornsey and Wood Green on 20/04/17 UIN 70775.

Women and Equalities

Voting Rights: Females

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, when she plans to announce further details of the £5 million funding to be made available to women's groups to celebrate 100 years of voting rights for women announced in the Spring Budget 2017.

Caroline Dinenage: The new fund will support projects celebrating the centenary of the Representation of the People Act 1918, which extended voting rights to women for the first time. We hope the fund will help build a legacy for the future by educating young people about this important milestone and inspiring women to get more involved in politics at all levels. Details of how people can apply for funding, what criteria will need to be met and when the scheme will start will be announced in due course.

Department for Transport

Aviation: Noise

Byron Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to incentivise the use of quieter aircraft in the general aviation sector.

Mr John Hayes: The Government acknowledges that the general aviation sector’s economic impact on the UK economy is around £3.0 billion of Gross Value Added. However, we also recognise that annoyance from aviation noise can be caused by aircraft in the general aviation sector. The Government is working on a new strategy for UK aviation, which will explore how we can maximise the positive role of our world class aviation sector.

Department for Transport: Security

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many security passes giving access to his Department's premises have been issued in each year since 2010.

Mr John Hayes: From the available records my department has issued the following numbers of passes since 2010:  2010201120122013201420152016* 2017DfTc---1079679702878250DVLA------368123DVSA-------87VCA-282528302338* 145 The figures for 2017 are up to 31st March.DVLA only keep data for a rolling 12 month period so the 2016 figure is for March to December 2016DVSA do not hold a record of the requested information for years 2010-16.The Maritime & Coastguard Agency are not able to provide a yearly breakdown of the number of passes issued.VCA – the higher 2017 figure reflects the fact that VCA reissued their passes having moved to a new style of pass.

Department for Transport: Security

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many security passes giving access to his Department's premises are currently valid.

Mr John Hayes: My department has the following number of active passes: DfT(c) 2843DVLA 6840DVSA 876MCA 1413VCA 147 Note that not all staff employed require a premises security pass to carry out their duties, and those who do not hold a security pass, are when needed, issued with a temporary or visitor pass to access Departmental premises.

Department for Transport: Security

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people holding security passes for other Government Departments are granted access to his Department's premises with that pass, by Department.

Mr John Hayes: Civil Servants have the ability to work flexibly across government sites where there is a business need to do so. The issuing of all passes is controlled by the local Departmental Security teams who follow strict procedures and protocols.

Airports: Construction

Kelly Tolhurst: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to encourage the building and opening of new airfields.

Mr John Hayes: The majority of airfields in the UK are privately run and owned. Any application to build or open a new airfield would be for the landowner and Local Planning Authorities to consider. Like other business enterprises, potential investors and owners of airfields can benefit from a range of measures that the Government has set in place to support businesses and promote growth.

Department for Transport: Data Protection

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many (a) official and (b) official sensitive documents have been recorded as lost by his Department since 8 May 2015.

Mr John Hayes: The Department consists of a central Department and four executive agencies; Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) and Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA). This response relates to both the central Department and its agencies. Of lost documents reported to the centre since 8 May 2015, 53 were at Official level and five were at Official-Sensitive. All losses are assessed and responded to individually and on a case by case basis with all possible mitigating actions being taken and in full compliance of our legal and other responsibilities.

Aviation: Radio

Kelly Tolhurst: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will seek a UK exemption on current EU targets for 8.33kHz radio adoption.

Mr John Hayes: The Government and the Civil Aviation Authority have sought some limited exemptions to keep some channels in use after the deadline. The Government will review the situation should the broader exemptions sought by other states be granted.

Aviation: Radio

Sir Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the costs to flying schools of complying with the UK's current EU targets for 8.33kHz radio adoption.

Mr John Hayes: The Government has not done so. Among other things the costs will depend on the equipment used by a flying school and the programmed replacement of that equipment.

Air Traffic Control

Sir Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of re-designating formal (a) aerodrome traffic and (b) military air traffic zones handling below 10,000 commercial air traffic movements per year in order to allow more general aviation access.

Mr John Hayes: Aerodrome and military air traffic zones provide a degree of protection to aircraft in the immediate vicinity of the aerodrome and form an important part of the structure of UK airspace. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has a duty to classify UK airspace and to keep such classification under review, under the Directions given by Government. In exercising this air navigation function the CAA must also reasonably apply a number of provisions, including to secure the most efficient use of airspace and to satisfy the requirements of operators and owners of all classes of aircraft.

Aviation: Training

Sir Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make representations to Naric to recognise airline transport pilots' licence ground schooling as a formal accredited qualification.

Mr John Hayes: In the 2015 General Aviation Strategy the Government made a commitment to promote apprenticeships and other GA training initiatives in England and we discuss training regularly with the General and Business Aviation Strategic Forum, most recently in January 2017. We have taken steps to ensure that approved qualifications for the purposes of Tier 4 visas include aviation licences, ratings and certificates issued in accordance with EU legislation by the UK's Civil Aviation Authority. Employers have already developed new apprenticeships standards in aviation which include Airside Ground Specialist and Aviation Operations Manager with the Commercial Airline Pilot standard currently in development.

Aviation: Apprentices

Sir Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a new type of professional pilot apprenticeship to incentivise those undertaking airline pilots' licence courses.

Mr John Hayes: In the 2015 General Aviation Strategy the Government made a commitment to promote apprenticeships in England and other GA training initiatives. We regularly review progress when we meet the General and Business Aviation Strategic Forum, most recently in January 2017. Employers are designing new high quality apprenticeship standards that address the specific skills requirements of their sectors. An apprenticeship standard describes the skills, knowledge and behaviors an apprentice needs, to be competent in a defined occupation.

Parking: Fees and Charges

Craig Whittaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the policies operated by local authorities on parking charges in supporting the local economy whilst adequately managing traffic and parking flows.

Andrew Jones: None. It is for local authorities to assess the effectiveness of their local policies on their local communities.

High Speed Two

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, who makes appointments to the Board of HS2 Limited; which other organisations or individuals provide advice on those appointments; and at what stage of the process they each do so.

Andrew Jones: Appointments to HS2 Non-Executive Board are made by the Secretary of State for Transport, under the terms of the Framework Document entered into by the Secretary of State and High Speed Two (HS2) Limited in December 2014. These appointments are made via open and fair competition and follow the principles of the Governance Code for Public Appointments, whether regulated by the Office for the Commissioner for Public Appointments or not. The Secretary of State is involved at each stage of the recruitment process, while Cabinet Office and No.10 are also involved at the appropriate stages.Appointments of Executive Directors are made by the HS2 Board.

Transport: Offences against Children

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to raise awareness with (a) taxi firms and (b) bus companies of child sexual exploitation.

Andrew Jones: The legislation that provides for licensing of taxi and private hire vehicle services is enabling in its nature, giving local licensing authorities the discretion to set standards and requirements that they deem to be appropriate. This includes the mandating of child exploitation and abuse awareness training. Following Royal Assent to the Policing and Crime Act earlier this year the Department for Transport will for the first time issue Statutory Guidance, this will include specific advice on practical measures to reduce the risk of sexual exploitation and abuse of children and vulnerable adults when using these services. This guidance will be consulted on shortly. The majority of bus services in the UK are run by private sector bus operators in a deregulated environment. Those operators have a duty to ensure their employees behave in accordance with the requirements of all relevant legislation.

Transport: North East

Mr Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to paragraph 4.22 of the Spring Budget 2017, how much of the £690 million fund to support local transport projects will be allocated to projects in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside local authority and (c) the North East.

Andrew Jones: The National Productivity Investment Fund (NPIF) allocates £690 million to local authorities in England for local transport networks. £490 million of this is available through a competition which was launched on 6 April and bids close on 30 June. Local authorities have an opportunity to bid for a share of the funding. In the North East, funding could be allocated to either or both of the two Combined Authorities (CAs), Tees Valley CA and North East CA, with the latter including both the Jarrow Parliamentary constituency and South Tyneside local authority. CAs are encouraged to coordinate the submission of NPIF bids for improvements to roads that are the responsibility of local authorities in their areas. At this stage it is not known which local authority areas will submit projects through the competition, or which will be endorsed by the relevant CAs.

Leeds-Bradford Airport: Railways

Craig Whittaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has to improve rail connectivity to Leeds-Bradford airport.

Paul Maynard: Leeds City Council has submitted to the Department for Transport a proposal over how it wishes to spend the funding originally allocated to the trolley-bus scheme. This contains proposals for new train stations in the region, including one close to Leeds-Bradford Airport with a bus link to the airport terminal. All schemes proposed within the package will be subject to local business case approval.

Parking: Pedestrian Areas

Craig Whittaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has to carry out further work with local authorities on pavement parking issues.

Andrew Jones: The Department for Transport convened a roundtable meeting with external stakeholders, including some local authorities, in March 2016 following the withdrawal of my Hon Friend, the Hon Member of North Dorset’s (Simon Hoare) Private Member’s Bill, which sought to ban pavement parking nationally. A possible pavement parking ban in the rest of England outside London was discussed. However, it was identified at the roundtable that the major concerns affecting the ability to introduce and enforce a pavement parking prohibition were issues relating to the processing of Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs). We plan to launch a survey in summer 2017 in order to gather evidence about the current situation, the costs and timescales for processing TROs, and information about options for change.

Network Rail

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to paragraph 3.19 of the Autumn Statement 2016, how much of the £450 million had been (a) released to Network Rail and (b) spent; and on what has that funding so far released been spent.

Paul Maynard: At this point, none of the £450 million has been released to Network Rail. The intention remains to deploy digital signalling using these funds; a range of schemes are currently being considered.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency: Staff

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many (a) full-time, (b) part-time, (c) full-time equivalent and (d) agency staff work for the DVLA.

Andrew Jones: The table below shows the number of staff that work for the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency as of 31 March 2017: Full-time staff4,085Part-time staff1,994Full-time equivalents5,388.7Agency staff27

Parking: Pedestrian Areas

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will take steps to produce a national strategy to prevent vehicles parking on pavements.

Andrew Jones: The Department for Transport convened a roundtable meeting with external stakeholders, including some local authorities, in March 2016 following the withdrawal of my Hon Friend, the Hon Member for North Dorset’s (Simon Hoare) Private Member’s Bill, which sought to ban pavement parking nationally. A possible pavement parking ban in the rest of England outside London was discussed. However, it was identified at the roundtable that the major concerns affecting the ability to introduce and enforce a pavement parking prohibition were issues relating to the processing of Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs). We plan to launch a survey in Summer 2017 in order to gather evidence about the current situation, the costs and timescales for processing TROs, and information about options for change.

Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency and Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions the Government has had on the key performance indicators for the objectives set out in the newly published business strategies for the (a) Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency and (b) DVLA with those agencies.

Andrew Jones: The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has recently published its five year strategy – ‘Helping you stay safe on Britain’s roads’. At the same time it also published its 2017/18 Business Plan which contains key performance indicators that contribute towards the successful delivery of the first year of its strategy. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has recently published its Strategic Plan for 2017-20, alongside its Business Plan 2017-18. DVLA’s aim is to get the right drivers and vehicles taxed and on the road, as simply, safely and efficiently as possible. As Sponsor of DVSA and DVLA my Department approved the content of both their strategies and business plans.

Parking: Pedestrian Areas

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 24 February 2017 to Question 64875, on parking: pedestrian areas, what further progress his Department has made in looking into improving the process for councils to address pavement parking issues; and when such work will be concluded.

Andrew Jones: The Department for Transport convened a roundtable meeting with external stakeholders, including some local authorities, in March 2016 following the withdrawal of my Hon Friend, the Hon Member for North Dorset’s (Simon Hoare) Private Member’s Bill, which sought to ban pavement parking nationally. A possible pavement parking ban in the rest of England outside London was discussed. However, it was identified at the roundtable that the major concerns affecting the ability to introduce and enforce a pavement parking prohibition were issues relating to the processing of Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs). We plan to launch a survey in summer 2017 in order to gather evidence about the current situation, the costs and timescales for processing TROs, and information about options for change.

High Speed Two

Antoinette Sandbach: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 2 March 2017 to Question 65186, on High Speed 2, how much was paid to each of the contractors listed in Annex A in 2015.

Andrew Jones: Providing information on payments made to each of the contractors listed in Annex A of Question 65186 would breach the disproportionate cost threshold.

High Speed Two

Antoinette Sandbach: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 2 March 2017 to Question 65186, on High Speed 2, which of the contractors listed in Annex A have been paid total fees of £5 million or more since 2010.

Andrew Jones: HS2 Ltd have made payments of over £5m to following 23 organisations since 2010: Aecom LtdAtkins LimitedAutomatic Data Processing LtdBryan & Armstrong LtdCapita Property and Infrastructure LtdCH2M Hill UKCommunities and Local GovernmentDepartment for TransportEnvironmental Resources Management Limited (ERM)Ernst & Young LLPFujitsuLambert Smith Hampton Group LimitedMichael PageMorgan Law Partners LLPMorson InternationalMott Macdonald LimitedMVA Consultancy Ltd (Systra Ltd)Network Rail Infrastructure LtdOve Arup & Partners LimitedParsons Brinckerhoff LtdPricewaterhouse Coopers LLPRedfern Travel LtdTemple Group Ltd We have based the answer to this question on data held by HS2 Ltd's payments system which supplies details of all payments whether or not a contractual commitment is in place.

Vehicle Number Plates: Fraud

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many cases of vehicle licence plate cloning there have been in each year since 2012.

Andrew Jones: The Department for Transport does not hold information about the number of cases of possible vehicle registration number plate cloning. However, between 2012 and 2016 the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency issued 233 replacement registration numbers to vehicle keepers who believed that their vehicle registration number may have been cloned.

High Speed Two: Bechtel

Mrs Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many personnel at HS2 Ltd are or have been at any time on secondment from Bechtel.

Andrew Jones: At no time have there been personnel at HS2 Ltd on secondment from Bechtel.

Vehicle Number Plates: Fraud

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department has taken to protect victims of vehicle licence plate cloning from receiving driving penalties for driving offences they have not committed.

Andrew Jones: The Department for Transport takes the use of false number plates very seriously. All suppliers of vehicle number plates must, by law, be registered with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). Number plate suppliers must keep records of the plates they sell and make these records available for inspection by the police or local authorities. The records must show that number plates have been sold to someone who has proved that they are entitled to display the registration number and provided proof of identity. If the registered keeper believes that their vehicle’s number plate has been cloned, they should report this to the police who will investigate. Any fines or correspondence the registered keeper receives for offences they are not responsible for should be returned to the issuing authority with an explanation of the circumstances. The registered keeper of a vehicle can also contact the DVLA to request a new registration number if they believe their number plate is being used by another vehicle.

FairFuelUK

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent representations he has received from FairFuelUK.

Mr John Hayes: No representations have been received from FairFuelUK and no meetings are currently planned.

Department for Transport: North Herefordshire

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much his Department has spent in North Herefordshire constituency since 2015.

Andrew Jones: Data on spend on transport infrastructure projects is not available at the level of North Herefordshire. However, figures are available for the West Midlands for total public sector transport spend, as outlined in the table below.  £million 2014-15 outturn2015-16 outturnTotal1,4341,964Current356658Capital1,0771,307

Southern: Standards

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answers of 20 January 2017 to Question 60337 and 21 March 2017 to Question 67853, on what date he received the (a) advice and (b) set of recommendations developed from the advice from Chris Gibb; if he will publish all documents received from Chris Gibb in full before Parliament prorogues ahead of the 2017 General Election; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Maynard: Chris Gibb’s findings were received by the Department on 30 December 2016. The Department will not be publishing Chris Gibb’s findings before Parliament prorogues however we intend to publish Chris Gibb’s report in full, with minor redactions to protect commercially sensitive material, and the Government’s response in due course.

Road Traffic Offences: Speed Limits

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on educating drivers in built-up areas in which schools are located on the level of risk to pedestrians of vehicles travelling at (a) 30mph and (b) 40mph.

Andrew Jones: I have not had any discussions with the Department for Education on this topic. Setting local speed limits is a matter for the local highway authority, as they are best placed to determine the speed limits for their areas, based on local knowledge and the views of the community. The Department for Transport (DfT) has issued guidance to help them in the Speed Limit Circular 01/2013 – Setting Local Speed Limits, which is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/setting-local-speed-limits

Regional Airports: Noise

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the recent effect of noise pollution from international flights at regional airports on neighbourhoods situated near those airports.

Mr John Hayes: The Government only carries out regular noise assessments at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted, which are designated for noise control purposes. These powers to manage aircraft noise are devolved in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Under European and domestic law, major airports, or other airports which impact on an agglomeration, are required to produce regular noise actions plans which require an assessment of how communities are impacted by noise and an airport’s plans for addressing these impacts. The last round of noise action plans were published in 2013 and can usually be found on airport’s website. The next round of noise action plans are expected to be published in 2018.

Diesel Vehicles: Exhaust Emissions

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to ensure that consumers affected by the manipulation of car emissions data receive adequate compensation from the manufacturers of those vehicles.

Mr John Hayes: The Government believes that the treatment of UK consumers has been unacceptable. Consumers should be compensated for the inconvenience, uncertainty and distress caused by Volkswagen’s actions and for any loss in the value of affected vehicles which may become apparent. I have held several meetings with Volkswagen executives and written to them repeatedly about this matter. Many consumers are seeking independent legal advice on this issue and we are prepared to provide any reasonable assistance to consumers who seek compensation directly. Therefore, I have met representatives of legal firms preparing civil action against Volkswagen and we are considering their requests for assistance.

Parking: Pedestrian Areas

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress has been made on preventing pavement parking since the withdrawal of the Pavement Parking (Protection of Vulnerable Pedestrians) Bill 2015-16.

Andrew Jones: The Department for Transport convened a roundtable meeting with external stakeholders, including some local authorities, in March 2016 following the withdrawal of my Hon Friend, the Hon member for North Dorset’s (Simon Hoare) Private Member’s Bill, which sought to ban pavement parking nationally. A possible pavement parking ban in the rest of England outside London was discussed. However, it was identified at the roundtable that the major concerns affecting the ability to introduce and enforce a pavement parking prohibition were issues relating to the processing of Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs). We plan to launch a survey in Summer 2017 in order to gather evidence about the current situation, the costs and timescales for processing TROs, and information about options for change.

Camberwell Station

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to re-open Camberwell Station on the Thameslink Line.

Paul Maynard: The Government is committed to improving access to rail services for passengers and will support proposals for new stations where these are commercially and operationally viable and deliver the quality service passengers want. While we aware of the suggestion of reopening the station at Camberwell that closed in 1916, no formal proposal or plans have been received by the Department for Transport.

Southern: Compensation

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much compensation has been paid to Southern Rail passengers in each of the last seven years; and what steps the Government is taking to provide Southern Rail passengers with information on how to claim compensation for delayed journeys.

Paul Maynard: Details of how much compensation has been paid to Southern and Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) passengers for years 2009/10 through to 2015/16 can be found through the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/566958/train-operating-companies-passengers-charter-compensation.pdf With regards to the steps the Government is taking to provide Southern Rail passengers with information on claiming compensation, GTR are contractually obligated to use all reasonable endeavours to make passengers aware of their right to claim compensation through a wide range of measures. The number of eligible passengers claiming compensation has almost trebled over the past 3 years – up from 12% in 2013 to 35% this year. This year the Government rolled out enhanced delay repay measures for GTR passengers that allow them to claim compensation when their train is 15 minutes late. The Government’s full response on making claiming compensation easier can be found through the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-moves-to-make-rail-claiming-compensation-easier

Railways: Southwark

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of Govia Thameslink trains have been late arriving at train stations in the London Borough of Southwark in each of the last seven years.

Paul Maynard: The Department does not hold data on trains arriving late at specific stations.

Parking: Pedestrian Areas

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress he has made on developing legislative proposals on pavement parking.

Andrew Jones: The Department for Transport convened a roundtable meeting with external stakeholders, including some local authorities, in March 2016 following the withdrawal of my Hon Friend, the Hon Member for North Dorset’s (Simon Hoare) Private Member’s Bill which sought to ban pavement parking nationally. A possible pavement parking ban in the rest of England outside London was discussed. However, it was identified at the roundtable that the major concerns affecting the ability to introduce and enforce a pavement parking prohibition were issues relating to the processing of Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs). We plan to launch a survey in Summer 2017 in order to gather evidence about the current situation, the costs and timescales for processing TROs, and information about options for change.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

British Nationals Abroad: Carbon Monoxide

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will maker it his policy to encourage travellers to bring a carbon monoxide alarm with them when travelling abroad.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office highlights the risks of carbon monoxide poisoning on our Foreign Travel Checklist on the GOV.UK website, and provides links to the 'Be Alarmed' (http://www.co-bealarmed.co.uk) national campaign, which includes guidance on staying safe and recommends taking a portable carbon monoxide alarm when travelling.

Crimes Outside National Territories: British Nationals Abroad

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to assess the effectiveness of extraterritorial jurisdiction in allowing the UK police force to investigate crimes committed against UK citizens abroad.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: I am not aware of any fundamental concerns with the UK police force's extraterritorial jurisdiction. Issues relating to individual cases are treated on a case-by-case basis

British Nationals Abroad: Carbon Monoxide

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will set out the Government's position on the promotion of carbon monoxide safety for people travelling abroad.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: While the number of consular cases involving British nationals affected by carbon monoxide poisoning overseas is very low, carbon monoxide safety and awareness remains important. We work with the travel industry through our 'Travel Aware' travel safety campaign to highlight safety risks to British nationals abroad. We also highlight the risks of carbon monoxide poisoning on our Foreign Travel Checklist on the GOV.UK website, and link to the 'Be Alarmed' (http://www.co-bealarmed.co.uk) national campaign, whose website includes advice on how to stay safe for those travelling abroad.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Security

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many security passes giving access to his Department's premises have been issued in each year since 2010.

Alok Sharma: For operational reasons, the Foreign and Commonweath Office does not provide historic data on passes issued by year.

Chechnya: Homosexuality

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information his Department holds on reports of detentions and executions of gay men in Chechnya; and if he will make a statement.

Sir Alan Duncan: I refer the Hon. Member to my statement and questions in the House on Thursday 20 April.

Yemen: Ports

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to help to ensure that Hudayah port in Yemen remains open to import food and humanitarian aid.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: I regularly raise the importance of ensuring humanitarian and commercial access through Hodeidah port with regional partners and the UN.Additionally, the Department for International Development is providing £1.4 million for the UN Verification and Inspection Mechanism to speed up the clearance process for ships and improve commercial confidence, as well as £1.8 million to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, who broker humanitarian access for the international response.

Golan Heights: Security

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Israeli Government on the threat posed by Hezbollah and others on the Golan Heights.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: In our regular dialogue with the Israeli government, we discuss a range of security issues, including the strategic threat picture in the region.

Jordan: Peace Negotiations

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Government of Jordan on retaining and maintaining peace in the Middle East.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Foreign Secretary, has held numerous discussions with the Government of Jordan on retaining and maintaining peace in the Middle East. The Foreign Secretary welcomed His Majesty King Abdullah to London on 26 January during which a wide range of issues were discussed, including the Middle East Peace Process, the Syria conflict, and reconciliation in Iraq. He has also discussed the Syria conflict and countering Daesh with Foreign Minister Al-Safadi in Bonn on 17 February and in Washington on 22 March. In addition to the Foreign Secretary's engagement, the Prime Minister has discussed regional issues with King Abdullah in London on 1 March, and in Jordan on 3 April, where she also met Jordanian PM Al-Mulki.

USA: Palestinians

Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his US counterpart on the proposed Taylor Force Act and ending that country's provision of economic aid to the (a) Palestinian Authority and (b) families of those who have died while carrying out terrorist attacks against Israel.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We have not had any discussions with the US authorities on this issue. We, however, regularly raise the issue of payments to prisoners and their families with senior Palestinian officials. We push them to ensure that such payments are transparent and needs-based.

Raymond Koh

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the Malaysian authorities on the recent disappearance and apparent abduction of Christian Pastor Raymond Koh.

Alok Sharma: ​I am concerned by the recent disappearance and apparent abduction of Pastor Koh. A police investigation is ongoing. We have regular dialogue with Malaysian ministers on human rights and I discussed Pastor Koh's case with civil society representatives during my recent visit to Malaysia. Our High Commissioner has also raised Pastor Koh's case with the Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister. We shall continue to follow developments in this case and wider civil society in Malaysia very closely.

Egypt: Copts

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will discuss with his counterpart in the Egyptian Government progress on apprehending the people responsible for the recent attacks on Coptic churches in Egypt.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We strongly condemn the recent attacks in Egypt against the Coptic Christian community, claimed by Daesh. The Government of Egypt has reaffirmed its commitment to protecting the rights of minorities and to the need to promote religious tolerance. We welcome President Sisi's calls for peaceful co-existence and the Government of Egypt's expression of support for the rights of Christians and for religious tolerance.Combating sectarian violence in Egypt is a shared strategic objective for the Egyptian and British governments. The Egyptian authorities have made several arrests following the attacks in Alexandria and Tanta, and continue to investigate the incident.

North Korea: Visas

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information his Department holds on how many UK nationals have been issued with visas for the purpose of visiting North Korea in a (a) professional and (b) tourism capacity since 1 January 2017.

Alok Sharma: It is for the North Korean authorities to issue visas to British Nationals visiting the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The UK does not hold details of the number of visas they issue to British Nationals.

Afghanistan: LGBT People

Liz McInnes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Home Secretary on the new guidance on sexual orientation and gender identity in Afghanistan which may lead to the return of failed LGBT asylum seekers to Afghanistan.

Alok Sharma: Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) officials provided evidence to the Home Office (Annex A of the Country Policy and Information Note) in advance of the publication of the updated guidance.The FCO will continue to provide analysis to the Home Office on issues relevant to the Country Policy. The Home Office consider each claim on its individual merits. Where someone is found to be at risk of persecution or serious harm in their country of origin because of their sexuality or gender identity, refuge will be granted.

Nabeel Rajab

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the Government of Bahrain on the case of Nabeel Rajab.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The British Government has raised concerns over the case of Nabeel Rajab with the Bahraini Government at senior levels. The judicial process is ongoing and we continue to monitor the case closely with officials

Department for International Development

Commonwealth: Health

David Mackintosh: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent discussions she has had with her Commonwealth counterparts on tackling (a) malaria and (b) other global health threats.

James Wharton: Discussions with Commonwealth members and other countries on global health threats including malaria take place through a number of international bodies, for example the World Health Organization, the UN General Assembly, and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.The Secretary of State for International Development has visited Commonwealth countries including India, Pakistan, and Sierra Leone since taking office, and has used these visits to discuss a range of critical issues, including health and development.

Iraq: Kurds

Dawn Butler: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what plans her Department has to make British medical aid available to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

Rory Stewart: The UK funds the delivery of life-saving medical services in Iraq, including in the Kurdistan Region. This support is delivered through a number of partners including the Iraq Humanitarian Pooled Fund and the International Organisation for Migration. Through our response to the conflict in Mosul we are helping to alleviate the pressure on the Kurdistan Region’s medical services.

Department for International Development: Procurement

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 8 March 2017 to Question 66402, on procurement, what estimate she has made of the amount spent on procurement management in each year since 2010.

Rory Stewart: The Department does not track centrally the time spent by all its staff on contract management activities. In line with the answer of 22 February to Question 66402, the amount of time spent on contract management will vary according to the type of contracts being let and, once they are let, how they perform subsequently.

Horn of Africa: Food

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent steps the Government has taken to persuade her international counterparts to (a) increase financial support and (b) assist in negotiating safe access for aid to increase the level of food available to the populations of Somalia and Somaliland.

James Wharton: The UK is leading international efforts to prevent a famine. Our early action is paying dividends and the international response is scaling up. Donors have allocated more in the first three months of 2017 than was raised in the whole of 2016 for the humanitarian response in Somalia (including Somaliland). This has enabled humanitarian partners to reach 1.75 million people with food and 1.15 million people with safe water in March alone.The UK continues to press for full and sustained access to hard to reach areas across Somalia. We are pushing the Federal Government of Somalia to fulfil its commitment to tackle all obstacles to humanitarian access. We are also supporting partners, like the International Committee of the Red Cross, who have the capability to open humanitarian access in hard to reach areas.

Independent Commission for Aid Impact: Public Appointments

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many applications the board of the Independent Commission for Aid Impact received during its last intake.

Rory Stewart: During the last intake of Commissioners to the Board of the Independent Commission for Aid Impact in 2014 and 2015, DFID received twenty-six applications for the position of Chief Commissioner and one hundred and thirty five applications for the Commissioner positions.

Department for International Development: Land

Mr Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to paragraphs 1.296 and 1.297 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, what progress her Department has made by estimated capacity of land sold since March 2016 in identifying and disposing of land to meet the Government's commitment.

Rory Stewart: DFID does not own any land beyond its headquarters buildings in London and East Kilbride.

Department for International Development: Conditions of Employment

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many and what proportion of staff employed by her Department are employed on a contract which is (a) full-time permanent, (b) part-time permanent, (c) for less than two years' duration, (d) on an agency basis and (e) zero-hours.

Rory Stewart: The number and proportion of staff employed by DFID in the categories requested is shown below:- .Number% as a proportion of total Home Civil Servant (HCS) staffPermanent and Pensionable Full Time189087.6%Permanent and Pensionable Part Time2099.7%Less than 2 years duration*251.2%Agency contracts16N/AZero Hours00 * - includes Fixed term and Limited term contracts, Loans and Secondments in to DFID who are on payroll as at 31st March 2017

Developing Countries: Diseases

Alex Chalk: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what proportion of UK official development assistance was allocated for the treatment of diabetes and other non-communicable diseases in each of the last three years.

James Wharton: Details of the UK’s official development assistance spend on health are published in Statistics on International Development https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statistics-on-international-development-2016. Our reporting is based on internationally agreed OECD Development Assistance Committee (OECD-DAC) codes, as part of our commitment to transparent reporting of development assistance in a way that permits international comparisons. Non-communicable diseases and diabetes are not categories within the OECD-DAC codes.As part of the UK’s commitment to achieving the Global Goals, DFID supports countries to build stronger health systems that can respond to both the existing disease burden and changing health needs, including non-communicable diseases.

Department for International Development: Private Education

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many staff of her Department based (a) in the UK and (b) overseas are in receipt of support for private school fees for children.

Rory Stewart: This information is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost to the taxpayer.

Department for International Development: Management Consultants

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 30 March 2017 to Question 69290, on management consultants, whether the spend listed was for (a) advice or (b) the implementation of programmes.

Rory Stewart: The consultancy spend provided for Question 69290 was for advice.

Department for International Development: Secondment

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many staff are seconded to her Department; and from which companies and organisations those staff are seconded.

Rory Stewart: As at 31 March 2017, 9 staff are seconded to DFID from organisations as shown in the table below: OrganisationNumberCambridge University1Federal Ministry of Economic & Development, Germany1Leeds Teaching Hospitals1London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine2Metropolitan Police1NHS1Public Health England1Thames Valley Police1Total9

Madagascar: Mining

Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of offering assistance to conservation organisations in Madagascar for the protection of the environment from the effect of unregulated sapphire mining; and if she will make a statement.

James Wharton: The Government believes that environmental protection and regulation of extractive industries are vital for sustainable development. Madagascar receives assistance through a number of global programmes. These include the Global Environment Facility, which has numerous projects in Madagascar. In addition, we are contributing to improved governance of Madagascan mining through our support to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.

Developing Countries: Climate Change

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to support children displaced by climate change.

James Wharton: The UK is playing a leading role to assist children in developing countries affected by humanitarian crisis, disasters and forced migration induced by climate risks such as droughts and flood. We work with mandated protection agencies, including ICRC, UNHCR and UNICEF, as well as international NGOs, who advocate for children’s rights, set standards, and implement programmes such as family reunification, case management, education, psychosocial and mental health support.Through the UK’s International Climate Finance we have also supported 21 million people to cope with the effects of climate change, helping families to respond to shocks and to adapt their livelihoods so they are more resilient in the future.

Independent Commission for Aid Impact: Public Appointments

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, who makes appointments to the Board of the Independent Commission for Aid Impact; which other organisations or individuals provide advice on those appointments; and at what stage of the process such advice is provided.

Rory Stewart: The Secretary of State makes appointments to the Board of the Independent Commission for Aid Impact, in accordance with guidance of the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments. For appointment of the current Chief Commissioner in 2014, a representative of the Commissioner for Public Appointments participated in the interview process, a member of the International Development Committee participated in the recruitment (shortlisting and interview) and the International Development Committee held a hearing with the designated candidate (Alison Evans) before endorsing her appointment. A member of the International Development Committee, a senior official from the National Audit Office and the Chief Commissioner participated in the recruitment (shortlisting and interview) of the other Commissioners.

Developing Countries: Sustainable Development

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment she has made of the Government's ability to support the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

James Wharton: The UK Government published a report on 28 March underlining its commitment to work with the international community to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals and the significant contribution the UK is making to each of the goals.

Developing Countries: Females

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to contribute to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goal 5 on gender equality and women's empowerment.

James Wharton: Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 5 on gender equality and women’s empowerment is a top priority for DFID.The Department supports the achievement of Goal 5 by; improving global level policies and performance on gender equality – the UN High Level Panel’s Report on Women’s Economic Empowerment is a prime example; by supporting better outcomes for girls and women at a country level through DFID’s bilateral programmes; and by demonstrating best practice in spend and policy across the Department on gender equality, including in implementing the Gender Equality Act.

Developing Countries: Females

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, to what extent her Department applies the principles of gender budgeting when assessing projects through UKAID.

James Wharton: The Gender Equality Act (2014) makes it a legal requirement to consider gender equality in all development and humanitarian assistance. DFID tracks spend on gender equality through the use of an internal gender marker.

Overseas Aid

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, to what extent her Department takes into account the concept of human development when assessing development projects for funding through UKAID.

James Wharton: The 2016 Bilateral Development Review outlined the importance of investing in people as the fundamental building block for delivery of all UK aid objectives. Delivery of human development outcomes is contributing to each of the four strategic objectives set out in the Review. In allocating aid, the fit with these strategic objectives is carefully considered.The Bilateral Development Review includes commitments on health, education, nutrition, water and sanitation and family planning. Through strengthening global health security and helping everyone to achieve their potential, UK aid investments in human development are designed to contribute to ending extreme poverty, promoting global prosperity and strengthening global security and resilience.

Central America: Overseas Aid

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will publish (a) her Department's spend in (i) Guatemala and (ii) El Salvador and (b) the projects that have been delivered in those countries to improve access to reproductive health care.

James Wharton: UK ODA spend is published in Statistics for International Development (SID). DFID has spent no bilateral aid in Guatemala or El Salvador since 2010/11. In 2013-2015 some UK ODA was spent in these countries by departments other than DFID.

Independent Commission for Aid Impact: Public Appointments

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what proportion of the Independent Commission for Aid Impact Board are (a) women, (b) from black or minority ethnic backgrounds, (c) disabled or (d) from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

Rory Stewart: Information on the three members of the Independent Commission for Aid Impact’s Board of Commissioners can be found on the ICAI website.

Department for International Development: Freedom of Information

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many staff in her Department respond to Freedom of Information requests.

Rory Stewart: DFID has a central team of three staff who advise on and co-ordinate responses to Freedom of Information requests. All DFID staff may have some involvement in preparing responses.

Yemen: Famine

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to the UN report stating that 60 per cent of Yemenis are in crisis or emergency food situations, published on 15 March 2017, what steps her Department is taking to prevent famine in Yemen.

Rory Stewart: The UK provided £112 million in aid to Yemen in 2016/17, which supported over 462,000 people with food or food vouchers, and over 889,000 women and children with nutrition interventions. Given the scale of the current crisis in Yemen, yesterday we further increased UK aid for 2017/18 to £139 million, to provide lifesaving aid to hundreds of thousands of desperate people. I would refer the Right Honourable Gentleman to the Written Ministerial Statement HCWS606 for further information.

Charities: Northern Ireland

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she has taken to promote take-up of her Department's small charities fund among charities in Northern Ireland.

James Wharton: The Department will liaise with CADANI (Coalition of Aid and Development Agencies in Northern Ireland) as well as other appropriate Organisations in order to promote the Small Charities Challenge Fund.

Department for Education

Department for Education: Security

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people holding security passes for other Government Departments are granted access to her Department's premises with that pass, by Department.

Caroline Dinenage: The information requested is not held centrally.

Department for Education: Security

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many security passes giving access to her Department's premises have been issued in each year since 2010.

Caroline Dinenage: The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Creationism

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the number of publicly funded schools that are teaching creationism.

Nick Gibb: The Department does not collect data about the number of schools that are teaching creationism. Creationism does not accord with the scientific consensus or the very large body of established scientific evidence; nor does it accurately and consistently employ the scientific method. Outside of science lessons, there is scope for young people to discuss beliefs about the origins of the Earth and living things in religious education, providing that these discussions do not undermine the teaching of the established scientific consensus around evolution. The Government expects pupils in all state funded schools to study the nature of, and evidence for, evolution by the end of Key Stage 4. The Government’s expectations are set out in the National Curriculum, which maintained schools are required to follow, and in the funding agreements to which academies must adhere. The Department investigates complaints made about schools that are teaching creationism as a scientific theory contrary to the National Curriculum or their funding agreement.

Citizenship

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools have been found not to be teaching British values by Ofsted in each year since 2014.

Nick Gibb: This is a matter for Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman. I have asked her to write to you and a copy of her reply will be placed in the libraries of the House.

English Baccalaureate: GCSE

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when her Department plans to respond to its consultation on proposals to ensure that at least 90 per cent of pupils take GCSEs in EBacc subjects.

Nick Gibb: The English Baccalaureate provides the right foundation for most pupils, and we want to see a significant increase in the proportion of pupils in mainstream secondary schools entering the English Baccalaureate subjects at GCSE. We are carefully considering the consultation responses and will publish the Government response in due course.

Pupils: Hartlepool

Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to increase the funding per pupil in Hartlepool constituency in real terms; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: We want schools to have the resources they need, and through our careful management of the economy we have been able to protect the core schools budget in real terms. School funding is now at its highest level on record at almost £41bn in 2017-18 - and that is set to rise, as pupil numbers rise, to £42 billion by 2019-20. We are going to end the historic post code lottery in school funding and under the proposed national schools funding formula, more than half of England’s schools will receive a cash boost. Our proposals include significant protections so that no school would face reductions of more than 1.5% per year or 3% overall per pupil as a result of this formula, and on high needs funding for pupils with special education needs and disabilities, no area would lose funding at all. We recognise the increasing cost pressures schools are facing and will continue to provide advice and support to help them use their funding in cost effective ways, and improve the way they buy goods and services, so‎ they get the best possible value for their pupils. We have produced tools, information and guidance for schools financial health and efficiency, which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/schools-financial-health-and-efficiency.

Food Technology: Secondary Education

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of making cookery a mandatory component of the secondary school curriculum.

Nick Gibb: Cooking and nutrition are taught as part of the design and technology programme of study for Key Stage 1 to 3 in the National Curriculum. The National Curriculum is compulsory in maintained schools and can be used as a benchmark by academies and free schools. Within the programme of study, pupils are taught about food and nutrition and how to cook a range of healthy and nutritious meals. They are equipped with knowledge about healthy eating, what is meant by a balanced diet as well as how to feed themselves and others affordably and well. In September 2016, we also introduced a new GCSE in Food Preparation and Nutrition. The new GCSE enables pupils to acquire an understanding of the scientific principles behind food and nutrition, and use a number of practical cooking techniques to prepare and cook food. The first exam in this new qualification will be in summer 2018.

GCSE

Maggie Throup: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to encourage more students to take up a creative, artistic and technical subject at GCSE.

Nick Gibb: At Key Stage 4, all pupils in maintained schools have an entitlement to study an arts subject and a design and technology subject. In addition to the revised curriculum introduced into schools in 2014, new GCSEs in a number of creative, artistic, and technical subjects including music, art and design, dance, drama, design and technology, food preparation and nutrition, electronics and engineering have been developed to be more rigorous. These GCSEs or any other GCSEs and technical awards from the Department approved list can count towards the open element of Progress and Attainment 8. These measures are designed to encourage schools to offer a broad and balanced curriculum.

GCE A-level

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 29 March 2017 to Question 68556, what her policy is on the provision of resources and revision materials by exam boards for students taking reformed A-level courses.

Nick Gibb: This is a matter for Ofqual, the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation. I have asked its Chief Regulator, Sally Collier, to write directly to the Honourable Member. A copy of her reply will be placed in the House of Commons Library.

English Language: Southampton

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of pupils in Southampton are defined as New to English.

Nick Gibb: In 2016/17 the school census was amended to collect additional pupil characteristic information. This included a question, for pupils whose language is recorded as anything other than English, as to their level of proficiency in English. The lowest level of proficiency which can be recorded is ‘New to English’. As stated in parliamentary question 62925 (9 February 2017)[1], it is our intention to publish information on the new data, including proficiency in English, nationality and country of birth, in the form of anonymised research within a statistical report. This will be made available later this year following completion of processing, analysis and assessment of data quality. [1] Found at http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2017-02-02/62925/

English Language: Pupils

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what (a) financial and (b) teaching support is offered to schools with significant numbers of pupils with English as an additional language.

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what (a) financial and (b) teaching support is offered to schools with significant numbers of New to English pupils.

Nick Gibb: The Government is committed to ensuring equity of opportunity so that all pupils, irrespective of background, can fulfil their potential.In the current system, whether a school receives any English as an additional language (EAL) funding, how long for, and how much they receive, all depends on the particular local funding formula. By contrast, under our proposals for a national funding formula, any qualifying pupil will be funded at the same rate. The EAL factor will include any pupil who entered the state education system in the last three years and is recorded on the census as having a first language other than English.As in the current system, under a national funding formula, schools will continue to be responsible for deciding how to use their total funding allocation in order to support all their pupils.

English Language: Pupils

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how the Ofsted assessment of schools recognises schools with a large New to English population.

Nick Gibb: This is a matter for Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman. I have asked her to write to you and a copy of her reply will be placed in the libraries of the House.

Social Mobility Commission

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many applications the board of the Social Mobility Commission received during its last intake.

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of the Social Mobility Commission board are (a) women, (b) from black or minority ethnic backgrounds, (c) disabled or (d) from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, who makes appointments to the Board of the Social Mobility Commission; which other organisations or individuals provide advice on those appointments; and at what stage of the process such advice is provided.

Nick Gibb: The appointing Departments – Department for Education, Department for Work and Pensions, and Cabinet Office – received 98 applications for the position of Commission Member for the Social Mobility Commission during the last recruitment process.The Board of the Social Mobility Commission comprises the Rt Hon Alan Milburn as Chair, the Rt Hon Baroness Gillian Shephard as Deputy Chair and two other commissioners, Paul Gregg and David Johnston. We do not hold detailed profiling information on Commission members, however you can find their biographies on the Social Mobility Commission webpage at this link:https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/social-mobility-commissionAll members of the Commission are appointed by a Minister of the Crown and the positions are regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. All appointments are undertaken in line with the Governance Code on Public Appointments, which you can find at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/578498/governance_code_on_public_appointments_16_12_2016.pdf

Teachers: Pensions

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to equalise survivors' benefits from the Teachers' Pension Scheme for widowers, civil partners and same sex married couples with those for widows.

Nick Gibb: There are no plans to review survivors’ benefits from the Teachers’ Pension Scheme. It has been the policy of successive Governments that any changes or improvements to public service pension schemes are not normally applied retrospectively. This policy protects the current membership and taxpayers from having to meet unforeseen additional costs that were not previously taken into account, and to which those who would benefit have not contributed towards.

Sex and Relationship Education

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the timetable is for the Government's consultation on RSE, RE and PSHE announced on 1 March 2017, HCWS509.

Edward Timpson: We anticipate that the Children and Social Work Bill will receive Royal Assent when Parliament prorogues. The Bill includes clauses placing a duty on the Secretary of State to make Relationships Education in primary schools and Relationships and Sex Education in secondary schools compulsory through regulations. It also allows her to make Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education (PSHE) compulsory through regulations. We will develop the regulations and accompanying statutory guidance and both will be subject to consultation. The regulations will then be laid under the affirmative procedure to allow for debate and a vote in Parliament. The Department will be acting in accordance with the pre-election period guidance and conventions until the General Election on 8 June

Schools: Admissions

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many school places have been available in (a) Batley and Spen constituency, (b) Kirklees and (c) England in each of the last seven years.

Nick Gibb: Local authorities are responsible for ensuring there are sufficient school places for pupils. The Department collects pupil number forecasts and school capacity data from each local authority through the annual school capacity survey (SCAP). This data is used to allocate capital funding to local authorities to help them provide sufficient school places where they are needed. The Department’s Pupil Place Planning team then work with the Local Authorities to determine those places that are in fact being created. The capacity and forecasts data are published on an annual basis, giving local authority and regional totals, through the SCAP tables which can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-school-capacity. School capacity and forecast data is not available at constituency level. The following table provides the requested information on available school places (school capacity) in Kirklees and England in each year from 2009/10 to 2015/16.  Table 1: School capacity in state funded primary and secondary schools2009/102010/112011/122012/132013/142014/152015/16England7,790,6457,862,2727,914,5638,053,5098,239,8308,389,4798,525,736Kirklees65,49365,73966,57566,84967,56767,99668,506School capacities are as reported by local authorities for all school types, based on their knowledge of each school.

Priority School Building Programme

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to rebuild schools which were due for rebuilding under the Building Schools for the Future programme as part of the Priority Schools Building programme.

Nick Gibb: The Priority School Building Programme (PSBP) is spending £4.4 billion on rebuilding or refurbishing those buildings in the worst condition at 537 schools across England.The investment is being targeted more effectively than before, with investment decisions based on a comprehensive picture of the needs of the school estate. In doing so we are maximising the impact of every pound of taxpayers’ money.Under PSBP, timescales to start building works have been cut by up to two years and the average cost is a third less than under Building Schools for the Future (BSF).All schools, including those that were due for rebuilding under BSF, were invited to apply to the PSBP. Successful schools were prioritised for the programme based on their condition need.The vast majority of schools within the first phase of the programme will be delivered by the end of 2017, two years earlier than originally planned.

Children: Poverty

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to page 123 of the report, UK Poverty: Causes and Solutions, published by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation on 6 September 2016, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of implementing the recommendations in that report on providing all children with an excellent education.

Edward Timpson: We are taking wide-ranging action to address the issues raised by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation report and ensure that all children are provided with an excellent education. In the Schools that work for everyone consultation we signalled our intention to build a diverse education system in which all children can receive a high-quality education that is right for them, regardless of their background or postcode. We are seeking to overturn the ban on new selective schools to ensure that the best and brightest students can enjoy a stretching curriculum, implementing this reform in a way that places conditions on grammar schools, as well as independent schools and universities, to ensure that they do more to raise standards across the whole system. Working with head teachers and other sector experts we have reformed the National Professional Qualifications to better prepare leaders for the range of roles in today’s school system and have funded the High Potential Middle Leaders and High Potential Senior Leaders programmes to develop excellent leaders in challenging schools. An independent expert group convened by the department has defined a new standard for teachers’ professional development and we have announced plans to invest around £75 million in the Teaching and Leadership Innovation Fund over the next three years to support high-quality professional development for teachers and school leaders in the areas of the country and schools that need it most. Our £137 million investment in the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) is expanding the evidence base on what works to raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils. As part of its dissemination activity the EEF, in partnership with the Institute for Effective Education, has established a network of Research Schools to support the use of evidence in improving teaching practice. Reforms brought in by the Children and Families Act 2014 are transforming the support available to children and young people with SEN and disabilities (SEND) by joining up services for 0-25 year olds across education, health and social care and by focusing on positive outcomes for education, employment, housing, health and community participation. Building on effective practice to support disadvantaged pupils we have funded the development of the SEND Review, based on the model of the Pupil Premium Review, to support SEND focussed school-to-school improvement. Since 2015, we have funded the Whole School SEND consortium to embed the SEND review nationally and encourage school leaders to give greater priority to improving their SEND provision. Schools have a clear legal duty not to discriminate against pupils under the Equality Act 2010. Statutory guidance on exclusions is clear that head teachers should make additional efforts to consider what extra support is needed to avoid exclusion for groups with disproportionately high rates of exclusion, including those with SEND and pupils from Gypsy Roma Traveller communities. Our plans to reform the use of alternative provision (AP) include making schools accountable for the ongoing education and outcomes of pupils who require AP, such as those who are permanently excluded. This will further strengthen incentives for schools to take earlier action where problems emerge that put pupils at risk of exclusion.

Secondary Education: Expenditure

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the (a) planned and (b) actual expenditure on 16-19 education was in each of the last three years.

Robert Halfon: The data for the last 3 years allocations are in the public domain and can be sourced at the following location:https://www.gov.uk/guidance/16-to-19-education-funding-allocations#published-allocations16-19 funding operates under a lagged funding methodology which uses historic funding factors and student numbers to calculate a funding allocation for each of our c.3,300 funded institutions for each academic year.With the exception of c.150 commercial and charitable providers we do not reconcile institutions’ allocated funding to their actual expenditure or funding earned, so we do not operate post 16 funding on the basis of planned and actual expenditure.The figures quoted above represent the actual allocations made to institutions for the stated academic years, based on the lagged principle explained above.

Secondary Education: Mental Health Services

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance her Department gives Ofsted inspectors in respect of mental health services offered at secondary schools.

Nick Gibb: Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is responsible for Ofsted’s common inspection framework, school inspection handbook and safeguarding guidance, which set out how inspectors consider and report on these matters. The school inspection handbook sets out that inspectors should evaluate the experience of particular individuals and groups, including those with mental health needs. It also includes as a grade descriptor for outstanding schools that “pupils make informed choices about healthy eating, fitness and their emotional and mental wellbeing”. Inspectors must evaluate how well schools fulfil their statutory and other responsibilities, and how well staff exercise their professional judgement, in keeping pupils safe.

Children's Centres

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when the Government plans to publish its consultation on the future of children's centres.

Caroline Dinenage: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 9 January 2017 to Question 58217: http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2016-12-19/58217/.

Children: Sexting

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to prevent sexting by schoolchildren and to monitor trends in the level of that activity.

Edward Timpson: Keeping children safe in education is statutory safeguarding guidance for schools and colleges. The guidance sets out that all schools and colleges should have a child protection policy. The child protection policy should reflect the school or college’s approach to sexting.To support schools and colleges the UK Council for Child Internet Safety Education Group has recently published advice for schools and colleges. The advice supports them in tackling the range of issues which sexting presents, including responding to disclosures, handling devices and imagery, risk assessing situations and involving other agencies. The advice also contains information about preventative education, working with parents and reporting imagery to providers.High quality personal, social, health and economic education and Sex and Relationships Education are a vital part of preparing young people for life in modern Britain - helping young people make informed decisions, manage risks, stay safe and learn to respect themselves and others. Schools have the autonomy to tailor their programmes to reflect the needs of their pupils, and they are free to include teaching to support pupils to manage issues such as sexting.The Government has produced advice for schools on searching, screening and confiscation which makes clear that school staff can search pupils for items that have been or could be used to cause harm or break the law, teachers can also search for items banned by the school rules such as mobile phones.

Children's Centres: Closures

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many Sure Start children's centres closed in England in 2017.

Caroline Dinenage: Since January 2016, real-time data on children’s centres and sites has been supplied by local authorities via the Department’s EduBase portal at:http://www.education.gov.uk/edubase/search.xhtml?clear=true. Councils are merging centres to allow services to be delivered more efficiently. Where they decide to close a children’s centre, councils must demonstrate that children and families, particularly the most disadvantaged, will not be adversely affected and that they will not compromise their duty to have sufficient children’s centres to meet local need. Based on information supplied by local authorities, 60 children’s centres closed between 1 January 2017 and 19 April 2017.[1] [1] The number of children’s centres closed is based on information supplied to Edubase, as at 19 April 2017 at 10:50am. This figure could change if local authorities report additional closures that took place between 1 January and 19 April.

Asylum: Children

Stuart C. McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many Child in Need assessments under the Children Act 1989 have been carried out for children arriving into care of local authorities under the (a) Dubs amendment of the Immigration Act 2016 and (b) Dublin III Regulations.

Stuart C. McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many young people who entered the UK through (a) the Dubs amendment of the Immigration Act 2016 and (b) Dublin III regulations between 1 January 2016 and 1 January 2017 were accommodated in (a) foster placements, (b) supported accommodation and (c) other accommodation.

Edward Timpson: The Department for Education does not collect figures for the number of young people in English local authorities under these arrangements. Individual local authorities will hold this information on the assessment and placement of these young people.The Department for Education only holds the information for England. The devolved administrations hold the information for the other constituent countries.

Schools: Shropshire

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many Shropshire Council secondary schools have an allocated Careers and Enterprise Company adviser.

Robert Halfon: Helping all young people to get the careers education and guidance they need to climb the ladder of opportunity is crucial to delivering real social justice. We are investing £90m over this Parliament to ensure that every young person has equal access to the life-changing advice and inspiration that they need to fulfil their potential and succeed in life. This includes funding for The Careers & Enterprise Company to continue the excellent work it has started to transform the provision of careers, enterprise and employer engagement experiences for young people.Based on the most recent data, the Company’s Enterprise Adviser Network is now active in 37 out of the 38 Local Enterprise Partnership areas. 1,618 secondary schools and colleges across the country have signed up to the network and 1,422 Enterprise Advisers are working with them. In Shropshire, 13 secondary schools are signed up to the Enterprise Adviser Network, of which 10 are matched with an Enterprise Adviser and 3 are due to be matched.

Pupils: Grammar Schools

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the supplementary tables published alongside her Department's consultation, Analysing family circumstances and education, what proportion of pupils listed as attending selective schools who are not disadvantaged are in households of incomes of (a) £0 to £10,000, (b) £10,000 to £15,000, (c) £15,000 to £20,000, (d) £20,000 to £25,000, (e) £25,000 to £31,000, (f) £31,000 to £38,000, (g) £38,000 to £47,000, (h) £47,000 to £59,000 (i) £59,000 to £78,000 and (j) greater than £78,000.

Edward Timpson: The open consultation on Analysing family circumstances and education provided a range of supporting analysis. Supplementary tables with additional analysis will be published by the department as part of the consultation response.

Further Education: Coventry South

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the (a) planned and (b) actual expenditure on 16 to 19 education provision was in each of the last three years in Coventry South constituency.

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the (a) planned and (b) actual expenditure on 16 to 19 education provision was in each of the last three years in the West Midlands.

Robert Halfon: The data are in the public domain and can be sourced at the following location:https://www.gov.uk/guidance/16-to-19-education-funding-allocations#published-allocations71279 - we do not hold constituency details for institutions so are unable to provide the required information for Coventry South so the above shows data for Coventry local authority as a whole.71280 - the data provided for West Midlands consists of those local authorities that are grouped into the EFA region West Midlands.16-19 funding operates under a lagged funding methodology which uses historic funding factors and student numbers to calculate a funding allocation for each of our c.3,300 funded institutions for each academic year.With the exception of c.150 commercial and charitable providers we do not reconcile institutions’ allocated funding to their actual expenditure or funding earned, so we do not operate post 16 funding on the basis of planned and actual expenditure.The figures quoted above represent the actual allocations made to institutions for the stated academic years, based on the lagged principle explained above.

Free School Meals: West Bromwich East

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many school children in West Bromwich East constituency are not eligible for free school meals.

Edward Timpson: This information is published in the statistical publication available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2016

Teachers: Older People

Liz McInnes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that schools do not intentionally or unintentionally discriminate against teachers aged over 60 years who apply for jobs.

Nick Gibb: The Department’s guidance to schools makes clear that when recruiting staff, employers and governing bodies must be aware of their responsibilities set out in the Equality Act 2010. Schools must not discriminate directly or indirectly against any prospective employee on the basis of any protected characteristic (including age, race, sex or disability) in relation to appointments, pay and conditions.

Children: Social Services

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will disclose names of individuals and organisations who attended meetings with the Chief Social Worker for Children and Families on the power to test different ways of working provisions of the Children and Social Work Bill; and on what dates such meetings took place.

Edward Timpson: The Chief Social Worker has met social workers and other individuals and organisations at many meetings, events and conferences to discuss policy and the Children and Social Work Bill more broadly, where the power may have been only one possible area of discussion. Below is a list of the key meetings attended by the CSW, which focussed more specifically on the power to test different ways of working. Date of meetingOrganisation/Individual25/07/2016Family Rights Group01/08/2016Family Rights Group03/08/2016Cafcass04/08/2016Who Cares? Trust08/09/2016Barnardo’s08/09/2016NSPCC13/09/2016Partners in Practice Local Authorities (Hampshire County Council, Leeds City Council, Lincolnshire County Council); Baroness Pinnock; Earl of Listowel15/09/2016Article 3927/09/2016Lord Laming12/10/2016The Children’s Society16/01/2017NAIRO; Hampshire County Council; Tri-borough Children’s Services; Leeds City Council; North Yorkshire County Council21/02/2017Tim Loughton MP; Kelly Tollhurst MP; Lord Mackay; Lord Laming

Children: Social Services

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what action was taken by her Department in response to the National Audit Office's investigation into a potential conflict of interest between the Chief Social Worker for Children and Families and a company called Morning Lane Associates.

Edward Timpson: The Department has taken action to improve its processes in the handling of potential conflicts of interests. There is a clear process for all civil servants to follow. Specifically, there is an agreed protocol in place that specifies the Chief Social Worker will not be involved in any decision-making process, which could result in any public funding being awarded to Morning Lane Associates or any other organisations in which she may have a conflict of interest. This sets out proportionate measures to ensure there are no actual or perceived conflicts of interest around funding decisions, while still allowing the Chief Social Worker to fulfil her role.

Department for Education: North Herefordshire

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department has spent in North Herefordshire constituency since 2015.

Nick Gibb: The Department does not hold information on all allocated funding for education per constituency. The table below shows the funding allocated to Herefordshire Local Authority in 2015-16 and 2016-17 to deliver education from early years to school sixth form and further education colleges. This does not include those of the Department’s budgets which are not available by local authority, for example higher education and adult education:  Herefordshire2015-162016-17 £m£mDedicated Schools Grant before recoupment (including Early Years, the Early Years Pupil Premium, schools and High Needs)115.5116.5Pupil Premium5.55.6Education Services Grant1.51.4Universal Infant Free School Meals2.12Primary PE and Sport Premium0.70.7School Sixth Forms0.30.3Further Education colleges19.820.516-19 academies3.53.1

Children: Disadvantaged

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the supplementary tables published alongside her Department's consultation, Analysing family circumstances and education, how many of the 2,043,500 children classified as disadvantaged are in families in which at least one parent is in work.

Edward Timpson: Data provided by Department for Work and Pensions and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs as part of the technical consultation does not allow us to determine whether individuals in the children’s household are in work at any given point in time.Entitlement for free school meals is determined mainly by eligibility for certain benefits which indicate that households are either workless or with limited hours being worked. 961,800 of the pupils classified as disadvantaged in the technical consultation Analysing family circumstances and education were not recorded as being eligible for free school meals in 2016.

Schools: Finance

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to paragraph 3.6 of the Schools national funding formula, government consultation - stage 2, what estimate her Department has made of the annual cost pressures facing schools after 2020.

Nick Gibb: We have not made an estimate of cost pressures outside of the current spending review period.

Schools: Finance

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to paragraph 3.6 of the Schools national funding formula, government consultation - stage 2, what her Department's methodology was for calculating the total cost pressures facing schools.

Nick Gibb: This year, in 2017-18, the average per pupil funding amount for schools in the City of Bristol local authority, provided through the Schools Block of the Dedicated School Grant is £4,684. This is an average amount across both primary and secondary schools in the local authority area. The distribution of funding between schools (including the balance between primary and secondary schools) is a matter for local discretion. Decisions about school funding in future years will be subject to the outcome of the national funding formula consultation. In the consultation, we made available data illustrating the amount each school would have received if the proposed formula had been implemented in full in 2016-17, and a projection of schools’ allocations in the first year of transition. This data is published at https://consult.education.gov.uk/funding-policy-unit/schools-national-funding-formula2/.

Church Commissioners

Homelessness

Kevin Foster: To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what steps the Church of England is taking to support local projects tackling homelessness.

Dame Caroline Spelman: At parish and diocesan level the Church is closely involved in providing support to homeless people through night shelters and other activities, and raising funds and awareness. Recently in the House of Lords bishops supported the Homelessness Reduction Bill.In the Torbay area the Vicar on the Streets initiative undertaken by Revd Gary Deighton of St George's Church, Goodrington, and the Winter Night Shelter run by local churches have both made a real difference to the issues of homelessness. The clergy and parishioners of Goodrington and Torbay have raised nearly five thousand pounds over the period of Lent to support the Shekinah Mission, which works across Devon to provide a safe space for people to develop their skills, regain their self-worth and go on to live independent and fulfilling lives.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Young People

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much resource including (a) staff and (b) salary costs her Department has allocated to development of the Government's forthcoming youth policy statement.

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what (a) staff, at what salary cost, and (b) other resources have been committed by her Department in preparing the forthcoming Youth Policy Statement.

Mr Rob Wilson: My department has allocated around a third of the full time equivalent (FTE) of a Band A and half of a FTE Band B staff to work on the Youth Policy Statement since November 2016. This has included engaging with young people and the youth sector through a series of workshops. The proportion of time staff spent on the Youth Policy Statement is subject to change as the work develops.

Artificial Intelligence

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, which Government Department holds primary responsibility for policy on artificial intelligence.

Matt Hancock: The Department of Culture, Media and Sport holds primary responsibility for Artificial Intelligence (AI) policy. DCMS and BEIS jointly support the industry-led review of Artificial Intelligence announced in the Digital Strategy.

Electronic Commerce

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what progress her Department has made on the gathering of statistics on digital trade; and if she will make a statement.

Matt Hancock: DCMS publish exports of services figure for the Digital Sector at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/544789/DCMS_Sectors_Economic_Estimates_2016.xlsx, as part of DCMS Sectors Economic Estimates.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Cybercrime

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many (a) staff of her Department and (b) consultants have been employed in cyber security roles in each of the last five years.

Matt Hancock: In May 2015 the Cyber Security unit moved to DCMS from the Department for Business and Industrial Strategy (BIS). The department does not retain details centrally that would allow us to identify employees who worked in cyber security roles so the information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

BBC Monitoring

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what future funding she plans to make available to BBC Monitoring.

Matt Hancock: BBC Monitoring is funded from the television licence fee, which is set by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport under Section 365 of the Communications Act (2003). The BBC is operationally and editorially independent of Government and funding for the Monitoring scheme is a matter for the BBC.

Business: Cybercrime

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, following the Government's press release dated 1 March 2016 on cyber security training for businesses, how many businesses have completed the free online training courses to help protect against cyber threats and online fraud since March 2016.

Matt Hancock: Between its launch in September 2014 until February 2017, 88,520 unique users had participated in the ‘Responsible for Information’ online course for small and medium sized businesses.

5G

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what plans she has to bring forward legislative proposals to encourage the deployment of 5G mobile services; and if she will make a statement.

Matt Hancock: At Autumn Statement 2016 the Government announced a package of measures worth £1bn to boost the UK's digital infrastructure - including investing in a nationally coordinated programme of 5G testbeds and trials.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Elephants: Conservation

Corri Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how the Government intends to secure a long-term future for wild elephants and their natural habitats.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Government works with a range of governments and international organisations to conserve endangered species, including elephants, through various fora, including the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). I attended the CITES Conference of Parties in 2016 where the UK played a major role in achieving strong outcomes for elephants, that will help ensure their survival in the wild. Additionally, the Darwin Initiative is a UK Government grant scheme focussed on preserving animal and plant species and their habitats. This has recently funded a project in Mali that aims to protect elephants by halting and reversing degradation, and habitat loss. Poaching and trafficking pose a major threat to elephants and other species and demand coordinated international action. The UK is leading the global response to tackling the illegal wildlife trade, and last year we supported Vietnam to host a third successful high level conference on the issue, where new actions to deliver on the commitments agreed at the previous London and Botswana conferences in 2014 and 2015 were secured. At the conference we announced an additional £13million for tackling the illegal wildlife trade, doubling our existing investment. This funding will support a range of initiatives, including British military training for anti-poaching rangers in key African states and financial support for global action by Interpol and other international organisations involved in the fight against wildlife crime.

Dogs: Animal Breeding

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Minister of State of 30 March 2017, Official Report, column 480-2, on animal welfare, whether she plans to bring forward legislative proposals prohibiting puppy farms.

George Eustice: Commercial dog breeders already require a licence from their local authority in order to operate. The Government has reviewed these controls and has proposed that all licensed dog breeders comply with up to date animal welfare standards. We have also proposed to lower the threshold by which dog breeders will need a licence to three litters a year. Anyone breaching animal welfare standards risks having their licence revoked.

Livestock: Hormone Treatments

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what evidence her Department has collected on prevalence of the use of pregnant mares' serum gonadotropin in (a) British farms and (b) meat sold in the UK.

George Eustice: Usage data for veterinary medicines is not collected and recorded on a national basis. The Government however does collect sales data for all medicines sold in the UK. These data are received from the companies marketing the products at intervals of up to 3 years. According to the sales data held by the Government, it is estimated that, between the years 2010 and 2015 (the last year for which full sales data for these products is currently available) approximately 19,000 animals each year (across the 4 authorised species of cattle, pigs, sheep and dogs) were treated with products containing pregnant mares’ serum gonadotrophin (PMSG). The Committee for Medicinal Products for Veterinary Use (CVMP) has also assessed PMSG for its suitability for use in food producing animals and concluded that PMSG offers no risk to the consumer.

Dairy Farming

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the number of intensive indoor dairy farms operating in the UK.

George Eustice: The Government does not collect information on the number of intensive indoor dairy farms operating in the UK.

Livestock: Hormone Treatments

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential effects of the use of pregnant mares' serum gonadotropin in meat production on human health.

George Eustice: In order to market a veterinary medicine in the UK, an application must be submitted to the Government to obtain a marketing authorisation. All applications are scientifically assessed against European standards for quality, safety and efficacy to determine the benefits of the product. This assessment also takes account of any potential risks to the environment, to animals, to people who administer the medicine and to those who may consume produce from treated animals. A product is only granted an authorisation if the benefits of the product outweigh its risks. The Committee for Medicinal Products for Veterinary Use (CVMP) has also assessed pregnant mares’ serum gonadotrophin (PMSG) for its suitability for use in food producing animals and concluded that PMSG offers no risk to the consumer.

Animal Welfare: Sentencing

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Justice and the Home Secretary on increasing the maximum custodial sentence for acts of animal cruelty to five years imprisonment; and if she will make a statement.

George Eustice: Ministers and officials in Defra have had regular dialogue with Ministers and officials in the Home Office and Ministry of Justice. The issue of sentencing was discussed most recently in the context of two Private Members Bills tabled on this issue.

Deer: Exmoor National Park

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to protect red deer on Exmoor from the activities of poachers.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Deer Act 1991 prohibits, among other things, the poaching of deer as well as the killing or capture of deer during the close season or at night and the use of certain methods of killing or capture. The police are the law enforcement authority for poaching offences. Poaching is one of the UK’s six wildlife crime priorities. The National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU), funded by the Government, is helping the police to tackle these crimes by gathering and analysing information, sharing this with the police and assisting police investigations. Between 2014 and 2016 the NWCU worked closely with local police and other organisations specifically targeting deer poaching on Exmoor. The action resulted in five arrests and successfully disrupted poaching activity in the area.

Ivory: China

Dr Paul Monaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the implications for its policies of China's recent decision to close its domestic ivory trade.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: We were pleased to hear of China’s announcement to end its domestic commercial ivory trade in 2017. We look forward to seeing further detail on China’s measures, including understanding the nature of provisions for auctioning certified ivory ‘relics’ and how China plans to implement and enforce the new measures. In September last year, the Environment Secretary announced a ban on trade in worked ivory from the last 70 years, making the UK rules on ivory amongst the toughest in the world. We will consult on these plans.

Agriculture: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reasons her Department's Greenhouse Gas Action Plan for Agriculture: Review 2016, published on 14 March 2017, did not adopt the Committee on Climate Change October 2016 advice on the need for the Government's approach to agricultural emissions to move beyond the current voluntary approach of providing information and advice; and if she will make a statement.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Greenhouse Gas Action Plan (GHGAP) for Agriculture is an industry-led undertaking and the principal mechanism for delivering reductions in emissions from agriculture in England. The recently published review looked at the progress of the GHGAP during the period 2012 through to end of 2016 and recommended changes to further improve performance. Advice from a number of sources, including the Committee on Climate Change will help us to make reducing greenhouse gas emissions a central part of the Government’s future farming and land use policy and ensure that agriculture contributes to the UK’s legally binding carbon reduction targets.

Neonicotinoids: EU Law

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many applications for the use of neonicotinoid pesticides her Department plans to make to the European Commission during the next 42 months; and how many such applications have been made from the UK in the last (a) 12 and (b) 24 months.

George Eustice: There is no process that provides for the UK to make such applications to the European Commission. There is a process for “emergency authorisation” of pesticides. Applications for emergency authorisation are made to the UK Government by applicants and are carefully considered on the basis of the scientific evidence and the legal requirements.

Agriculture: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when her Department plans to publish the revised greenhouse gas inventory model; whether the updated representation of the UK livestock sector will include data relating to (a) emissions resulting from the production of livestock feed and (b) carbon sequestration in permanent pastures; and if she will make a statement.

George Eustice: The revised agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventory model is due to be completed this year and implemented as part of the 2016 National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory. Data from the 2016 inventory is due for submission and publication in 2018. Details of the methodology and assumptions within the revised agricultural GHG emissions model will be published in 2018 as part of the annual UK National Inventory Report. The model will include emissions estimates from:UK grass and fodder production. Emissions from imported feeds are not accounted for, in line with international emissions reporting guidelines.Carbon sequestration from land converted to grassland. Emissions are accounted for in the Land Use and Land Use Change and Forestry sector.

Ravens

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what regulations cover the controlling by shooting or otherwise of ravens which predate on other species; and if she will make a statement.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: All wild birds, including ravens, are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Under this Act it is an offence to kill, injure or take wild birds and to take or damage their eggs and nests. There are, however, provisions in section 16 of the Act that allow for the control of birds for the purpose of conserving flora and fauna, for which a licence could be granted. Natural England is the licensing authority in England.

Partridges: Conservation

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to secure habitats for the grey partridge.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Habitat improvement is a devolved matter. In England, agri-environment schemes such as Environmental Stewardship fund the provision of important habitats for farmland birds such as the grey partridge. In addition, grey partridges are among the farmland birds that will benefit from wild pollinator and farm wildlife package options under the Countryside Stewardship scheme, for example by providing winter feeding, nesting sites and food for chicks. The grey partridge also benefits - as do other bird species - from England’s extensive network of protected sites for wildlife such as sites of special scientific interest and special protection areas.

Exclusive Economic Zone

Calum Kerr: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, within what time period after the UK leaves the EU it will assume control of its exclusive economic zone and become an independent coastal state under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

George Eustice: The UK will automatically assume control of its Exclusive Economic Zone and become an independent Coastal State on the day that it leaves the European Union.

Agriculture: Public Consultation

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Building a Great Future regional stakeholder events for Food, Farming and Fisheries announced by her Department on 6 April 2017, whether the events constitute an official public consultation conducted in line with government guidelines; which stakeholders the events are aimed at; how her Department is publicising the events; and what steps she is taking to ensure a broad range of views are represented.

George Eustice: The 'Building a Great Future' events would have formed part of an extensive stakeholder engagement process to help inform future policy options on food, farming and fisheries. We have aimed to ensure that as many stakeholders as practicable had access to these events. A general election has now been called by the Prime Minister and in accordance with Cabinet Office guidance governing the pre-election period we are pausing our stakeholder engagement on future policy until after the election. These events have therefore been postponed.They would not have constituted a formal consultation under Cabinet Office guidelines. Formal consultations on policy options will follow in due course.

Agriculture: Public Consultation

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Building a Great Future regional stakeholder events announced by her Department on 6 April 2017 are intended to inform the forthcoming 25 Year Plan on Food and Farming.

George Eustice: The prime purpose of these events was to feed into a 25 year plan for food and farming, as well as feed into future policy options on food, farming and fishing. A general election has now been called by the Prime Minister and in accordance with Cabinet Office guidance governing the pre-election period we are pausing our stakeholder engagement on future policy until after the election. These events have therefore been postponed.

Tidal Power: Swansea Bay

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 18 April 2017 to Question 69570, whether she has seen a copy of the flooding impact assessment carried out by the Welsh Government; and if she will place a copy in the Library.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: This is a devolved matter for the Welsh Government.

Agriculture: Public Consultation

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her Department's objectives are for the Building a Great Future regional stakeholder events, announced by her Department on 6 April 2017, on decision-making on food, farming and fisheries policy; and if she will make a statement.

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the budget is for the Building a Great Future regional stakeholder events, announced by her Department on 6 April 2017; and how much (a) from the public purse and (b) funding from other sources is being spent on running and advertising those events.

George Eustice: A general election has now been called by the Prime Minister and in accordance with Cabinet Office guidance governing the pre-election period we are pausing our stakeholder engagement on future policy until after the election. These events have therefore been postponed.

Tidal Power: Swansea Bay

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 18 April 2017 to Question 69569, if she has seen a copy of the Environmental Impact Assessment carried out by the Welsh Government; and if she will place a copy in the Library.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: This is a devolved matter for the Welsh Government.

Department for Exiting the European Union

Brexit

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, with reference to his letter of 29 March 2017 to the European Council President, if he will define the term (a) practical and (b) appropriate as used in the section on the process in the UK.

Mr Robin Walker: The main focus of the Great Repeal Bill will be to provide stability, certainty and continuity whilst ensuring that future changes to the UK law will be the matter of the UK and devolved parliaments. As set out in the 'Legislating for the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union' White Paper there are a variety of reasons why conversion alone may not be sufficient in particular cases. For example, there will be gaps where some areas of converted law will be entirely unable to operate because we are no longer a member of the EU. There will also be cases where EU law will cease to operate as intended or will be redundant once we leave.This approach to converting EU derived law will provide a functioning statute book on the day we leave the EU, and ensure that it is for our sovereign Parliament (and where appropriate the devolved administrations) to make any future changes.

Department for Exiting the European Union: Data Protection

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many (a) official and (b) official sensitive documents have been recorded as lost by his Department since it was established.

Mr Robin Walker: Since the formation of the Department no OFFICIAL or OFFICIAL SENSITIVE documents have been recorded as lost.

President of the European Council: Correspondence

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many (a) security or police staff and (b) civil servants escorted the letter triggering Article 50 to the office of the President of the European Council.

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what the cost of (a) car and (b) train travel was for the team escorting the letter triggering Article 50 to the office of the President of the European Council.

Mr Robin Walker: The letter was taken to Brussels by two civil servants travelling on Eurostar. The overall travel costs have yet to be finalised. The letter was then delivered to the President of the European Council by Sir Tim Barrow as part of his duties as UK Permanent Representative to the European Union at no additional cost.

Department for Exiting the European Union: Staff

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many people are currently employed by his Department.

Mr Robin Walker: The Department is recruiting the brightest and the best from across the civil service, the wider public sector and the private sector. The Department for Exiting the European Union now has over 350 staff, and is growing fast. We will not be providing a running commentary as recruitment is ongoing and numbers are regularly changing.

Department for Exiting the European Union: Security

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many people holding security passes for other Government Departments are granted access to his Department's premises with that pass, by Department.

Mr Robin Walker: Civil servants have to have the ability to work flexibly across government sites where there is a business need to do so. Passes can also be issued to contractors or secondees based within Government premises on a case by case basis in regards to specific business needs. Numbers of passes issued for access to departmental buildings will fluctuate over the course of a year.

Joint Ministerial Committee

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, when the next meeting of the Joint Ministerial Committee with the devolved administrations is planned to take place.

Mr Robin Walker: Dates for the Joint Ministerial Committee are agreed by consensus across the four governments. Dates of JMC(EN) meetings are not usually publicised in advance.

Health: EU Law

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether the fundamental right to health, and the legal obligation to ensure a high level of human protection, as set out in the EU treaties, will be incorporated into UK law as part of the Great Repeal Bill.

Mr Robin Walker: The EU Right to Healthcare is a principle for the development of EU law. It did not create new rights to health care above and beyond what is already provided under national laws and practices. The UK's commitment to universal healthcare, free at the point of delivery, goes well beyond minimum EU requirements.The Great Repeal Bill will ensure that there is maximum possible certainty as to the rights and obligations in our law upon leaving the EU. And it will allow for a smooth and orderly exit that provides a secure basis for future changes to our domestic law.The Bill will ensure that, wherever possible, the same rules and laws apply on the day after we leave the EU as they did before. This means that the Bill will convert directly-applicable EU law into UK law; it will preserve all the laws we have made in the UK to implement our EU obligations, as well as the rights in the EU treaties that can be relied on directly in court by an individual.

EU law

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, with reference to page 32, paragraphs A.8 and A.9 of Annex A of the White Paper, Legislating for the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union, which general principles of EU law will continue to apply to the UK in any future relationships with the EU.

Mr Robin Walker: The Government’s approach is that the Great Repeal Bill will convert current EU law into domestic law wherever practicable, ensuring a functioning statute book on exit. It is essential that there is a common understanding of what the law means. The Government believes that this is best achieved by providing for continuity in how that law is interpreted before and after exit day. That includes interpretation in light of the general principles of EU law, such as fundamental rights, proportionality and legal certainty.After we leave the EU, Parliament will be free to change the law where it decides it is right to do so. The terms of the UK’s future relationship with the EU will be a matter for negotiations.

Attorney General

Attorney General: Security

Jon Trickett: To ask the Attorney General, how many security passes giving access to the Law Officers' Departments' premises have been issued in each year since 2010.

Jeremy Wright: The number of security passes issued each year since 2010 for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) are:YearPasses created2010282201122720125312013451620148932015563220161068The number of security passes issued each year since 2014 for the Government Legal Department (GLD), and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) are:YearPasses Activated20141396201569920162698Reliable figures are only available from 2014.The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is currently a tenant of the Canadian High Commission (CHC) who are responsible for the administration of security passes allowing access to their premises. The CHC do not hold a reliable central record detailing the exact number of historical passes issued in each year since the SFO moved into the premises in 2012 and such information could only be provided at a disproportionate cost.The AGO has issued 11 passes since moving to new office premises in February 2017. Reliable information is not available for prior years when AGO was located at 20 Victoria Street, London.

Wales Office

Wales Office: Conditions of Employment

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many and what proportion of staff employed by his Department are employed on a contract which is (a) full-time permanent, (b) part-time permanent, (c) for less than two years' duration, (d) on an agency basis and (e) zero-hours.

Guto Bebb: The Wales Office is not an employer in its own right. The number and proportion of staff working at the Wales Office on 31 March 2017 is shown below in the categories requested: Contractual positionNumberPercentage(a) full-time permanent3578(b) part-time permanent49(c) for less than two years' duration49(d) on an agency basis24(e) zero-hours00

Wales Office: Land

Mr Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, with reference to paragraphs 1.296 and 1.297 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, what progress his Department has made by estimated capacity of land sold since March 2016 in identifying and disposing of land to meet the Government's commitment.

Guto Bebb: The Wales Office has no surplus land or property to release.

Wales Office: Secondment

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many staff are seconded to his Department; and how many such staff are seconded from which companies and organisations.

Guto Bebb: As at 31 March 2017, one person was seconded to the Wales Office, from Westminster City Council.

Wales Office: Freedom of Information

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many staff in his Department respond to Freedom of Information requests.

Guto Bebb: Any member of staff in the Wales Office might respond to Freedom of Information requests depending on the context of the information being requested.

Ministry of Justice

Ministry of Justice: Travel

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much her Department spent on travel that was not standard class in each of the last five years.

Dr Phillip Lee: The total contracted spend across the department, consisting of information covering the Ministry of Justice, Legal Aid Agency, CAFCASS, Criminal Cases Review Commission, Parole Board, Wales Office, Youth Justice Board and National Offender Management Service on non-standard fares including first class rail and first and business class air is as follows: 20122013201420152016 YTDAir£90,690.82£98,866.20£144,423.41£102,677.40£81,146.35Rail£175,495.19£406,716.17£472,742.23£460,308.45£492,391.94Total£266,186.01£505,582.37£617,165.64£562,985.85£573,538.29 There is a ban in place across the department on all first class rail and air tickets and business class air tickets for journeys under 5 hours and under 8 hours without a business need. The only exemptions to this rule are for judiciary and to support the needs of some staff with disabilities in carrying out their duties, where reasonable to do so.

Ministry of Justice: Internet

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the five most visited websites were by staff of her Department in the last year for which figures are available.

Dr Phillip Lee: The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and its constituent agencies work across multiple networks. Aggregated information for all of these networks could only be obtained at disproportionate cost by collating data on multiple MoJ domains [at a cost of £600 per day for approximately 25 days]. The list below provides the five most visited websites on the Ministry’s primary network, which is used by the majority of the Ministry’s staff.Google.com.gsi.gov.ukbbc.co.ukcivilservice.gov.uklive.com

Ministry of Justice: Official Hospitality

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much her Department has spent on (a) hotels, (b) hospitality, (c) food and drink and (d) transport in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Dr Phillip Lee: The consolidated departmental accounts give a figure for spend on the combined categories of travel, subsistence and hospitality. This is in the table below for the last five audited years. 2011-12 £0002012-13 £0002013-14 £0002014-15 £0002015-16 £000£42,009£46,729£45,214£47,403£47,313

Hull Prison

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many spaces on behaviour management courses will be made available to prisoners in HM Prison Hull serving public protection sentences in each calendar year from 2017.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The precise number of IPPs who access accredited offending behaviour programmes at HMP Hull is determined locally in response to individual circumstances as accredited offending behaviour programmes are not commissioned specifically for IPPs.

Ministry of Justice: Social Media

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department is enrolled on any trusted flagger programmes with social media companies.

Dr Phillip Lee: The Ministry of Justice is not currently enrolled on any trusted flagger programme.However, the Ministry of Justice continually works with social media companies to flag illegal content where it has been identified.

Magistrates' Courts: Internet

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress she is making on publishing online lists and results of cases which are dealt with under the single justice procedure.

Sir Oliver Heald: We are committed to upholding the principle of open justice as we digitise the courts and tribunals service. In parallel with the development of the IT solution and business processes we are looking at a range of public access options for lists of cases and exploring safe ways for SJP results to be made available digitally. In the meantime, HMCTS will continue to publish lists of SJP cases pending in local court buildings as now and to share lists and results with accredited media in compliance with obligations set out in the Criminal Procedure Rules.

Prisons: Staff

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will introduce guidance for prison authorities on safe staffing levels setting out a specific prisoner to staff ratio required per shift; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Sam Gyimah: I would refer the Honourable Member to the reply I gave on 29 March.

Debt Collection

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 28 March 2017 to Question 68373, if she will make it her policy to mandate the use of voice recorders or body cameras for (a) bailiffs carrying out enforcement activity for public bodies and (b) other bailiffs.

Sir Oliver Heald: As I said in my reply to the hon. gentleman’s earlier question answered on the 28 March, the Government has not made an assessment of the use of voice recorders or body cameras for bailiffs.

Prisons and Probation Ombudsman

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many applications the board of the Prison and Probation Ombudsman received during its last intake.

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of the Prison and Probation Ombudsman board are (a) women, (b) from black or minority ethnic backgrounds, (c) disabled or (d) from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, who is involved with board appointments for the Prison and Probation Ombudsman; at what stage each of those people are involved; and whether each person advises or decides on appointments.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman does not have a publicly appointed Board. The Ombudsman is the only public appointee. The current Ombudsman, Nigel Newcomen, was appointed in September 2011 for a period of five years. His tenure has been extended until July 2017 and the recruitment process for his successor is underway. An Advisory Assessment Panel will assess candidates and then ministers will put forward a preferred candidate for pre-appointment scrutiny by the Justice Select Committee prior to announcement.

Ministry of Justice: Management Consultants

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 27 February 2017 to Question 65691, how much of the procurement spending in each year since 2010 related to the services of management consultants.

Dr Phillip Lee: Information on the Ministry of Justice procurement spending relating to the services of management consultants is set out in our annual report for each year. These reports can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications listed under Spend on Consultancy.

Prison Officers: Pay

Mr David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she has submitted evidence to the Prison Officers Pay Review Body; and what the reasons were for the time taken for that submission.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The government has now submitted its evidence to the Prison Service Pay Review Body (PSPRB), which outlines the pay proposals for all operational prison staff for 2017/18, following extensive talks with both the Prison Officers’ Association (POA) and the Prison Governors’ Association (PGA).

Personal Independence Payment: Appeals

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many First-tier Tribunal appeals relating to claims for personal independence payments have been adjourned for (a) additional information and (b) other reasons in each of the last five years.

Sir Oliver Heald: This information is not held centrally.

Dangerous Driving

Liz McInnes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when the Government plans to publish its response to its consultation on Driving Offences and Penalties relating to causing Death or Serious Injury, issued in December 2016.

Mr Sam Gyimah: A government response to the consultation “Driving Offences and Penalties relating to causing death and serious injury” will be published as soon as possible but will be subject to the normal restrictions that apply during the period before a general election.

Crimes against the Person

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when she plans to implement the Law Commission's recommendations on Offences against the Person, published on 2 November 2015; and if the Government will bring forward legislation to implement those recommendations.

Sir Oliver Heald: The Government is considering the Law Commission’s recommendations. Ministers will provide an interim response to the Commission in due course.

Probation

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will publish the conclusions of her Department's Probation Services Review.

Mr Sam Gyimah: We have been carrying out a comprehensive review of the probation system to improve outcomes for offenders and communities while making sure public protection remains our top priority. The review is considering all aspects of the probation system, including performance and contractual arrangements. We intend to set out our next steps in due course.

Community Rehabilitation Companies

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what changes have been made to the provisions governing (a) charging levels, (b) fee levels and (c) reward mechanisms in the contracts between her Department and community rehabilitation companies which are planned to take effect in 2017-18.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service, through the Probation System Review, has been working proactively with all Community Rehabilitation Companies. The review has been looking at both the contractual arrangements and the effectiveness of service delivery.

Community Rehabilitation Companies

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of the financial and service viability of community rehabilitation companies.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service, through the Probation System Review, has been working proactively with all Community Rehabilitation Companies. The review has been looking at both the contractual arrangements and the effectiveness of service delivery.

Private Prosecutions

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010 makes provision for HM Courts and Tribunals Service to allow people seeking to bring a private prosecution to do so via a video link.

Sir Oliver Heald: The circumstances in which live-links may be used are the same for private prosecutions as for other cases. A court would consider any relevant statutory provisions, procedure rules, and inherent powers when determining whether live links may be used at a hearing. More generally, HMCTS operates a reasonable adjustments policy to give customers with disabilities access to information and services. Users wishing to request a reasonable adjustment should speak to a member of staff at the court where their case is being heard. A request for a reasonable adjustment at a hearing is referred to a judge.

Personal Injury: Compensation

Mr George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of the efficacy of the mechanism by which the financial savings from her Department's proposed reform to personal injury claims will be returned to consumers by insurance companies; and how her Department will collate evidence to ensure that any such savings are directly attributable to those proposed reforms.

Sir Oliver Heald: The Government remains committed to tackling the continued high number and cost of whiplash claims through the package of reforms announced on 23 February. Leading insurers have publicly committed to pass on the savings from the Government’s reforms to consumers through lower premiums. The Government will monitor the industry’s reaction and will consider further action if required. Motor insurance is intensely competitive and insurance companies will have little choice but to pass on savings or risk being priced out of the market.

Cabinet Office

Aortic Dissection

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many deaths occurred as a result of aortic dissection in (a) the UK and (b) England in each of the last 10 years.

Chris Skidmore: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA Response to PQ70896
(PDF Document, 71.68 KB)

Polling Stations: Staff

Cat Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he has considered the potential merits of establishing a national database of polling station workers.

Chris Skidmore: Polling station staff are recruited, trained and paid on an ad hoc basis by individual Returning Officers (ROs) to work on particular election (or elections if held on the same day). Returning Officers and their staff act independently of Government and so Guidance for them is provided by the Association of Electoral Administrators (AEA) and by the Electoral Commission. Polling station staff will be both regular and new appointees. There is little merit, therefore, in establishing a database where the information becomes redundant once an election is over. The creation and maintenance of a database would add to the workload of independent Returning Officers. It would also require legislation to make it mandatory.

Brexit

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if the Government will pause of delay any capital projects to concentrate resources on negotiations with the EU.

Chris Skidmore: The government remains committed to the successful delivery of our priorities. We constantly review our capabilities in order to deliver both the government's commitment to leave the EU and get the best deal for the UK.

Discrimination

John Mann: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many meetings he has had with whom and on what dates to discuss (a) antisemitism and (b) other forms of racism since 2015.

Chris Skidmore: Details of Ministers' and Permanent Secretary meetings with external organisations, including senior media figures, are published routinely on Gov.uk and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ministers-transparency-publications Information about meetings between officials, businesses and charities are not centrally held and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Cabinet Office: Freedom of Information

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many staff in his Department respond to Freedom of Information requests.

Chris Skidmore: FOI requests may be responded to by any member of staff across the Department, as they are allocated to the most appropriate person to respond depending on the subject of the request.

Civil Servants: Training

Cat Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many civil servants have received training through the Digital Academy since April 2016.

Chris Skidmore: The Digital Academy has trained 3,028 civil servants on digital and agile courses from April 2016 to April 2017.

Cabinet Office: Cybercrime

Cat Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many (a) staff of his Department and (b) consultants have been employed in cyber security roles in each of the last five years.

Chris Skidmore: The Cabinet Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Public Appointments Commissioner

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, who sat on the panel for the selection of the current Public Appointments Commissioner.

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, where the post of the current Public Appointments Commissioner was advertised.

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the number of applicants was for the current position of Public Appointments Commissioner by (a) gender, (b) ethnicity and (c) socio-economic background.

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many applicants there were for the most recent recruitment for the position of Public Appointments Commissioner.

Chris Skidmore: Information relating to the recruitment process of the Commissioner Public Appointments can be found in the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Select Committee’s Seventh Report of Session 2015–16, link below: http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/public-administration-and-constitutional-affairs-committee/inquiries/parliament-2015/commissioner-for-public-appointments/

Cabinet Office: Surveys

Tommy Sheppard: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what his Department's total expenditure on independent polling was in the financial years (a) 2014-15, (b) 2015-16 and (c) 2016-17.

Chris Skidmore: The information requested is not held centrally and therefore is only available at disproportionate cost.

Cabinet Office: Surveys

Tommy Sheppard: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many surveys his Department commissioned from independent companies in (a) 2014, (b) 2015 and (c) 2016 by (i) polling company, (ii) category of polling project and (iii) geographical location.

Chris Skidmore: The information requested is not held centrally and therefore can only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Pay

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people are estimated to be working and earning £11,500 or less per annum in the current financial year.

Chris Skidmore: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA Response to PQ71230
(PDF Document, 64.46 KB)

Older Workers

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people were estimated to be working beyond their 65th birthday in each of the last two years.

Chris Skidmore: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA Response to PQ71231
(PDF Document, 63.8 KB)

Pay: West Bromwich East

Tom Watson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people working in West Bromwich East constituency earn less than £10 per hour.

Chris Skidmore: The Cabinet Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Zero Hours Contracts: West Bromwich East

Tom Watson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people in West Bromwich East constituency are employed on zero-hour contracts.

Chris Skidmore: The Cabinet Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

UK Membership of EU: Referendums

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department or its agencies hold any information on the alleged interference by foreign states or their agents in the EU referendum campaign; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Skidmore: I will not comment on operational or intelligence matters, however I can assure you that the Government has seen no successful interference in our electoral process to date.Our system of paper balloting and hand counting means UK voting mechanisms do not lend themselves to direct electronic manipulation. A series of protective measures were put in place ahead of the 2015 General Election, designed to be sufficiently enduring to mitigate future threats, including the EU referendum.The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) offers UK organisations, including political parties, access to the best cyber security advice and support to help them meet their responsibility to protect their information and prevent cyber attacks from all possible threats.